For Reasons Unknown
by TacoTuesday137
Summary: Ruby's life has been complicated, getting her to places she never dreamed possible. A fluffy story about a young weapon's engineer making her way through college, doing her best not to ruin everything. [AU; Modern US]
1. Author’s Prelude

**For Reasons Unknown:**

 **!Warning!**

This story contains ideas and characters that are the intellectual property of Roosterteeth. All characters and ideas that originate from RWBY are not those of the Author and Poster.

Not suitable for children and teens below the age of 16. This story contains non-explicit sexual references, adult themes, references to psychological trauma, and coarse language. If you are under the age of 16, The author revokes responsibility of said person's viewing this story.

This author posts at irregular intervals. There is no set schedule for the posting of these chapters, and there is likely to be long periods of time where none are posted at all. Please be aware.

* * *

 **Author's Prelude:**

 **Read if you like, or don't.**

 **I'm words on a screen, not a cop.**

Hello dear Reader and Inspiring Writer,

If you missed the previous update posted roughly 24 hours before this, I'm terribly sorry to tell you that the previous rendition of _For Reasons Unknown_ has been terminated, and buried deep in my writing folder on my laptop.

Fret Not! For I learned a great many things since the original post of _Reasons_ , and have strived to improve my writing in the meantime. The biggest lesson that I learned was that a good story requires theme, something the previous version was lacking.

Now, I know what a lot of you are going to say; "It was good! It made us happy! Your writing is fine!" But that isn't as important as you'd think…

I have always been one who is a strong writer. I have an acute attention to detail that a great many people lack. It's why I chose to study civil engineering instead of architecture. It's why my favorite function in _Fallout 4_ is the settlement system. My attention to detail has always made my writing superb!

But I'm a shit Author.

You see, there are two very important things when writing a story of any kind. The first is an idea. An idea can drive you to create a whole world around something small, and create characters that mean something to you, and even drive you for a little bit.

But the idea is minuscule. The idea is only the first spark. You can't keep a bonfire going with one flick of a lighter, or a single match.

The most important thing in any story is the theme of the story, because that's what matters. It's not just what drives your characters, but it's what drives _YOU!_ The theme to any story you create is a part of who you are, and ultimately lies somewhere deep in your subconscious. This is why authors with experience, and usually psychological issues, write the best stuff. The themes of the story are embedded into them as people, and they want to ultimately tell a story about themselves.

Now, you don't have to be in a psych ward to write fluffy fanfiction. No one is expecting a Pulitzer on this website, and certainly not from a set of young adults with unhealthy obsessions of characters that don't exist. But I've read some really good pieces on this website. It is, after all, a place with a great, active community, who are always willing to help.

Except that one douche who got upset that I was writing White-Rose trash. Fuck you. Pairings is the primary drive of the website, where do you think you are?

So, if there is one thing that I've learned as a writer, and ultimately, an Author, it's that no matter how good you are, you can always improve, and always do better at something.

But I'll try not to rewrite this story a fifth time.

Have a good day, night, or whatever time of day it is, and don't mix drugs,

Herr Taco


	2. Pilot (1)

The sunlight beat down on the glass, standing alone on a table covered in terra cotta pots. A thin layer of clear liquid floating above the bubbling, amber soda marked a loss of ice in the heat of the day. What few ice cubes remained bounced around the sides of the glass as a petite hand wrapped around it. A pair of lips met the rim of the glass, and the soda entered her mouth.

Ruby Rose sighed as she felt the soda bubble around in the back of her throat. She set the glass back on the table and wiped the condensation from her hands onto her shirt. She adjusted her sunglasses and looked out at the bright street.

The day was warm, but in a nice way, so Ruby had decided to do her homework outside. She refocused on the laptop screen and began to tap at the keys again. After a few seconds of monotonous typing, Ruby slipped down in her chair and groaned. _Please, God, kill me now_ , she thought as she read over the same paragraph for the seventh or eighth time. She was a mere three paragraphs away from the paper's minimum, but with a lack of knowledge and lack of interest in the subject of political sanctions on the country of Romania, it was beginning to get tough to write.

College was not the life experience she had hoped it would be. After almost four semesters at Beacon University, the only thing that had changed in her life was her relative location on earth, and the length of the papers she didn't want to write. It wasn't that she couldn't handle a challenge, but the only challenges she faced on a daily basis were deciding how to ignore her homework.

Well, and her age.

Ruby glared at the screen and lifted the glass from the table again. In one tip, she swallowed the rest of her off brand 'Dr. Pepper.' She looked at her glass and squinted really hard, hoping her sheer will power would refill her glass and prevent the need to move from her seat. With every second resulting in the failure of unlocking her strange psychic powers, Ruby groaned and removed the laptop from her lap.

Her hands grabbed the sliding door to her apartment and threw it open. She felt the cool air mixing with the hot as she stepped through the threshold and slid the door shut again.

It wasn't technically her apartment, but rather her sister, Yang's. Ruby, having just turned eighteen, could only just rent property in the state of California. Instead, her sister leased the place for the both of them, and Ruby paid her half of the rent to Yang. It wasn't the ideal situation, as Ruby's older roommate was a very… _adventurous_ soul, and constantly brought people home.

Ruby sighed as she passed the couch to find yet another pair of underwear sitting on one of the pillows. She picked up the pair to glance them over. Upon realizing that they didn't belong to Yang, Ruby squinted and reeled back, tossing the underwear somewhere onto the floor. _A few more months_ , she thought, _then you can get your own place that you can keep free of other people's underwear._

Her sister, of course, would never let her leave. Yang would give an unlimited number of excuses to keep Ruby here, most of which were saving money and companionship. Neither were really a problem for her, though. She worked for one of the largest weapon design companies in the United States, Vasilias Weapon Systems, and Ruby was under no false pretenses that she was a good suite mate.

Though, she would have trouble with being, herself, lonely. She was single, and really only had one friend; Neptune Vasilias, her boss. Granted, due to their semi-close relationship, Neptune would always keep Ruby company, even when she didn't want it.

 _You don't have time for friends, Ruby. You have too much school work and too much work work._

Ruby reached her kitchen and dug around the refrigerator for another can. Bent down in the fridge, Ruby felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. She stood up and reached in to remove the miniature tablet. The screen read "Bro-Siden" and featured a hand drawn picture of the god of the ocean wearing a sick pair of shades. _Speak of the devil_.

Ruby stretched her thumb across the screen, barely reaching the edge. After tilting the phone in her hand, Ruby managed to slide the green circle over and lifted the phone to her ear. "What's the word, Chief?"

Ruby didn't have to see him to know that he would be grinning a sly and charismatic grin. " _Are you busy?_ " He asked.

Ruby looked back towards the door and considered the paper sitting on her laptop screen. "A little."

Neptune made a thoughtful noise and then responded. " _Well drop whatever you're doing, 'cause I'm hungry._ "

Ruby sighed. "I can't just stop doing homework to hang out with you, Neptune. I have work to do."

" _Yes, but food._ " There was a slight pause, and when it was clear Ruby wasn't going to dignify Neptune's comment with a response, he continued. " _Come on, you know you'd rather go get noodles with me then do homework,_ " Neptune reasoned.

Ruby thought for a second. Sure, hanging out with Neptune was enjoyable, sometimes, but she had too much to do. _And I really don't want to leave the house_. "Maybe I do, Neptune, but I have to get good grades on this."

Neptune groaned on the other side of the line. " _You spend too much time studying, Ruby. You need to get out and do more_."

"And you spend too much time partying. I know how much I need to study for school, Neptune."

" _Fair enough,_ " Neptune conceded. " _However, as your boss, you need to be more social if you ever want to get anywhere in this world, so I'm making you come have lunch with me._ " Ruby was stunned. _Did he just pull that card?_ Ruby tightened her grip on the can of soda and took a deep breath. "Fine, I'll go have lunch with you. But I won't be happy about it!"

Neptune laughed on the other end. " _You don't have to be happy, Ruby. You have have to get outside more._ "

"I get outside plenty!" Ruby argued. "I'm sitting outside right now!"

" _Suure you are._ " Neptune teased. " _See you in thirty at the noodle place I like?_ "

Ruby sighed. "Fine. See you in thirty."

She removed the phone from her ear and hit the red circle at the bottom of the screen. She slid the phone back in her pocket and tossed her head back in defeat. _I didn't want to go out today…_

Ruby slid the tip of her finger under the aluminum tab and pulled up. A fine, sugary mist spread around her hand as the carbon dioxide escaped into the air. She took a sip of the can and returned to the porch to collect her laptop and bag.

Ruby glanced around the room for her wallet and keys. Her wallet sat alone on the countertop leading out into the living room, but her keys seemed to be missing in action. _Maybe you don't have to go if you can't find your keys._ It was unlikely, so Ruby waltzed to her room in search of the little metal fittings.

With the palm of her hand flat against the wooden paneling, Ruby shoved the door open to reveal the organized mess that she lived in. Though she liked to keep the rest of the house clean, her personal space was a disaster of drawings and unfinished projects. Her side table held a few glasses of _who-knows_ , and her desk was covered in receipts and notes.

She scanned over her bed and several other pieces of furniture that _might_ hold keys, but to no avail. Her hands dug into the pockets of every pair of pants that sat on her 'Laundry chair', but after a few days worth, she gave up. Finally, she approached her desk, which probably held the secrets to the universe somewhere, but clearly not her keys. Ruby dropped down to the floor, crossing her legs and smacking the carpet. "Guhhhhhh," she groaned, as exasperated as possible.

"Ruby? Did you lose something again?" A familiar voice called. Ruby sighed and stood. She poked her head outside the door to her room to find Yang marching down the hallway.

"I can't find my keys," Ruby admitted.

Yang grinned and snickered under her breath. "Reeeally? You know, a certain sister might know where they are." Yang leaned against the wall, giving Ruby a sinister look. Ruby knew right away what she wanted. "But you have to tell me where you're going, and I want to come with."

Ruby sighed and squeezed past her sister. "I'm going for lunch with Neptune, and while I'm sure he would share in your enthusiasm for alcohol, you can't come with."

Yang twisted around to face her sister, holding her sinister grin strong. "Awe, I just wanted to spend some time with my baby sister before that devil steals her away from me."

Ruby groaned as she began to shift things around on the counter. "He's not gonna 'steal me away' 'cause he's not my boyfriend!" She defended. "He's just a friend who happens to be a boy!" Ruby's voice had increased another octave as she began to get frustrated with her sister, who was clearly enjoying the whole thing. "And he's not the reason I want to move out! It's because YOU bring home guys, and _girls_ , at odd hours of the night. I can't sleep with you screaming out your partner's names all the time!"

Yang positioned herself against another wall. "Well, you better grab him while he's still on the market. There aren't many boys who are interested in you, and I might want him for myself."

Ruby balled up her hands. "We aren't a thing! He doesn't like me like that. He just likes me as a friend and you aren't allowed to have him either because you would totally drive away the only person I can stand to go out and do stuff with and I would definitely be moving out then bec…" Ruby droned on.

"He might want you a little more if you did a little bit of growing, Sis," Yang teased.

Ruby jumped a bit in frustration. "I am a normal height for girls my age!"

Yang laughed a bit and then cupped the air around her breasts. "Wasn't talking about your height."

Ruby's face grew flush and she swiftly crossed her arms over her chest. "Big boobs just get in the way," she mumbled. Yang began to laugh profusely and even slapped her knee. Ruby huffed and marched towards the door. As she twisted the knob, her hands patted down her belt line and she stopped. Ruby turned back towards Yang, recalling why they were having the conversation in the first place. Yang lifted a stray carabiner and winked.

Ruby made a light, high pitched growling noise and marched over to where her sister stood and reconfiscated her keys. _I may not want to go out, but it beats being here with my sister!_ Ruby swung the door shut and marched to her car.

As she walked down the foyer towards the parking garage, Yang called out after her. "Just looking out for you, Sis!" Ruby growled again as she located her truck's key on the key ring. _So that's how today is gonna be._


	3. Failure to Lunch (2)

Her fingers gingerly danced across the top of the steering wheel in her truck. Ruby stared out at the parking lot as she waited patiently for the arrival of a particular sky blue Audi. It wasn't really patient, but more anxious as she glanced from the clock to the patrons of Neptune's new favorite noodle restaurant, _Fu Qin Noodles_. As another minute passed on the old dashboard radio, she wondered how long she had to wait before she could abandon the whole social escapade.

Much to her dismay, her phone buzzed in the seat next to her. She reached over and fumbled with the lock button on the side of the phone. The screen lit to life and revealed a message from the one and only Neptune Vasilias.

" _Go on in and grab us a table. I have to grab something on the way there._ "

Ruby sighed and twisted the key to turn off the truck. The old Chevy rattled to a stop, cuing ruby to yank at the old door handle with all of her body weight. A metallic clunk rang through the frame as the door swung open. Ruby stepped out into the warm summer day.

She swiftly smoothed down her free flowing button up shirt as she approached the door to the restaurant. A sweet looking young blonde opened the door for her and grabbed a menu from the box. "Table for one?"

Ruby hesitated as she felt several eyes turn towards her. "Actually, I'm meeting a friend here."

The girl perked up. "Oh, is he already here?" She asked cheerfully.

"No," Ruby admitted. "I'm getting the table for us." Ruby let out a breath as the girl grabbed a second menu. Ruby followed the young girl towards the center of the room, and stopped hesitantly as the girl placed the menus on a table in the midst of several crowds. "Actually, could we have a table out of the way?" Ruby asked.

The girl smiled and nodded. Ruby felt better as the girl led her to a table off to the side near a window. "Is this better?" The waitress asked.

Ruby nodded and took a seat. "Much."

The girl set the menus down and pulled out her notepad. "What can I get you to drink?"

Ruby froze to think, as though her drink order were the most important decision of her life. "Coke?"

The girl gave an awkward smile and shifted on her feet. "Is Pepsi okay?"

Ruby sighed and nodded, picking up the menu. The waitress left, leaving Ruby to herself. She pulled out her phone, hoping Neptune would give her more information about his estimated time of arrival, but she hadn't received anything.

Just as Ruby willed to text him, the restaurant door opened. Ruby looked up to see Neptune walking in wearing his golden sunglasses and red leather jacket, despite the temperature outside. He snapped at the blonde waitress and tipped his sunglasses down to make eye contact with her.

Ruby rolled her eyes as the waitress swooned under Neptune's charm. Neptune leaned against the stewardess' podium, and the blonde began to play with her hair. Eventually, the blonde pointed towards Ruby, and Neptune walked away with a wink.

Ruby watched in confusion as Neptune turned back towards the door and waved his hand inward. A tall blonde in a white dress shirt and jeans entered the restaurant and followed Neptune to Ruby's table. Ruby sat shocked as the blonde man sat down across from Ruby and gave her a warm smile.

Neptune took a seat next to her and swiped a set of silverware from the table behind them. Ruby glared at him until he took notice. When Neptune met her eyes, he snapped in surprise and waved a hand towards the blonde. "Ruby, this is Sun. Sun, this is Ruby."

Neptune continued to act as though he hadn't declared war on Ruby Rose, so Ruby decided to make it clear. She grabbed his jacket collar and pulled him close. "What is he doing here? You said you going to pick up _something_ , not _someone_."

Neptune smiled and glanced towards Sun. "Sun's a something."

Sun smiled warmly as he shot a finger towards Neptune. "I resent that."

Ruby bared her teeth. "Why is he here," she said through her clenched teeth. "It was just supposed to be us for lunch."

Sun seemed to notice the hostility, because he pointed towards the door. "I can always join you guys another time."

Neptune, still being held by the much smaller Ruby, threw his hand up and pointed at Sun. "Stay." He moved his finger towards Ruby and lifted his eyebrows. "And you, play nice. I'm trying to make you new friends."

Ruby let go of his collar and groaned. Her head fell back against her chair. "I don't need new friends," Ruby complained. She lifted her head back up and lifted her palm up and to Sun. "Who is this guy anyway?"

Neptune glanced at Sun really quick, who gave a reassuring smile to Ruby. "He's my club guy."

Ruby could tell that surprise was written all over her face. "I can't even go to clubs!"

Neptune shrugged. "Neither can I, but that doesn't stop me."

She felt the stunned look growing and moving throughout her body. _How can someone be so dumb?!_ "You're rich and handsome! You can do whatever you want!"

Neptune nodded his head as he considered her point. "I guess you're right," he said as he waved for the waitress. The young blonde trotted over and smiled sweetly at Neptune and Sun. She appeared to be at a loss for words, because Neptune winked at her and began to order. "I'll have a water and my friend here will have a Coke."

The blonde wrote down the order enthusiastically. "I'm sure I can get that for you," she said sensually. Ruby rolled her eyes and spoke up. "Pepsi is fine for him. Don't go out of your way or anything."

The blonde looked between Neptune and Sun for approval. Neptune grinned and nodded his head. "You heard the little lady. Pepsi works."

Sun leaned forward on the table. "You know, if you wanted a beer, I could drive us back."

Neptune let out a short laugh. "You are not driving my Audi," he teased.

Ruby cleared her throat. "Nobody's drinking. And we aren't done with our conversation!"

Neptune flashed his eyes wide and leaned onto his elbows. "Right," he began. "You need to learn to make friends if you ever want to get anywhere in this world."

Ruby sank back into her chair, going from offensive to defensive. "I like where I am," she argued softly.

Neptune shook his head. "You're just above an intern, Ruby. The real money and fun comes with being a Development Lead, which I know you have to skill for, you just don't have the social skills."

Ruby sat up and let out a short sigh before looking Neptune in the eyes. "I just don't like people, and you know that. I do fine in social situations."

Neptune leaned back and grinned. "Well, that's why I brought my buddy Sun." He twirled his hand to aim at Sun, who Ruby now noticed was grinning, and trying not to laugh. _Why does everyone laugh at me!_

"Make conversation, Ms. Rose." Ruby's face looked panicked as Neptune accepted his drink from the waitress.

Ruby took a deep breath and crossed her hands in her lap. "Alright," she said as she opened her eyes. "Hi, Sun. I'mmm Ruby! What do you do?"

Sun leaned back and took a sip from his glass. "I'm a martial arts trainer."

Ruby perked up. "Oh? What's your specialty?"

He smiled and leaned forward. "I prefer staff weapons, but I'm also into older firearms. Like Muskets and stuff."

Ruby felt the social awkwardness fade away as she began to discuss her true passion in life; _weapons._ "Do you own any?"

Sun moved his hand around as he talked. "I've collected a few antiques over the years, but you can't really fire those. I've had a couple custom made. A few of them were even built in your lab," he added.

Ruby turned to Neptune with a quizzical look. "We have the facilities, and I owed him for a particular evening," he answered.

Ruby let herself smile softly as she continued to talk about the absurd fighting styles that Sun taught in his martial arts class.

…

Ruby looked disappointed as Neptune covered the bill again, putting her even further into debt with the charismatic businessman. She sighed as the waitress returned with the paid check. The young blonde even blew a kiss to Neptune, who of course returned it with a wink and a sly grin. "I wanted to cover it, you know. I don't like owing you money," Ruby said grimly.

Neptune opened his mouth and looked around the air between them. "Ruby, you don't owe me money because I paid for lunch. My budget allows for a lot more outings than yours does," he contested.

Ruby looked down into her lap and then rolled her head to look up at him. "I don't like being taken care of, and you know that."

Neptune nodded as he grabbed another piece of broccoli with his fork. "I also know how much you make, and know that most of it goes towards school."

Ruby sighed and took a drink of her soda. "Why do you take me out then, if you're just gonna have to pay for me?"

Neptune gave her a stupid look and shook his head, all while searching for another piece of food in his bowl. "Because this is minuscule and I want to hang out with you."

Ruby groaned a bit and stuck her hands in front of her, matter-of-factly. "I don't know why! I'm not that great of company," she admitted.

Neptune shook his head and washed down whatever he had in his mouth. "Ruby, you're fine company. You're enthusiastic, fun, inspirational, and you don't care about my money. The fact that you're arguing this in the first place is indication that you're a better friend than Sun," Neptune said, pointing at the now empty chair. "The only reason he came along was because I was paying for his lunch."

Ruby looked between the seat and Neptune for a second. "So why are you friends with him?"

Neptune shrugged. "Because he knows where to party, and he makes for an amusing wingman." He looked at Ruby, who was giving him a disappointed look, and rolled his eyes. "Look, Ruby; in my world, you have to buy people if you want something. There aren't many who _just_ want to be your friend. That's why I like keeping a simple engineer around me," he said as he roughed up her hair. "I can take you to do something, hang out, and at the end of the day I know you'll do it again because you had fun, not because I had money."

Ruby gave Neptune a frustrated look. "So why do you want to introduce me to these people?" She questioned.

He smiled and bobbed his head. "Because you need connections in life, and they aren't all bad. I'll make you some more friends eventually."

He winked at her and Ruby laughed in response. She sighed sweetly and leaned back in her chair, giving Neptune a pleasant grin. "Do this to me again, and I will personally sabotage any romantic interests for the next month."


	4. Deal with the Devil (3)

Ruby slowly strode from the classroom towards the building's main doors. She yawned as she looked down at the stack of books and papers sitting in her arms. She mentally went over her homework for the next week and let out an annoyed grunt. It was more history homework that she would be spending days avoiding. She longed for another engineering class, and failed to understand why she needed this class at all. _Stupid history._

She reached the main doors that lead outside and frowned. The sky had grown dark and a soft rain drizzled down. _Oh, now we get rain_ , she thought. _The day when I don't have a jacket!_ She stood at the doors and stared out into the rain, hoping it would stop or something would save her.

The relief came in the form of a buzzing cell phone. Ruby jumped at the sudden noise, and shifted all the books into one arm. Her hand fished for the phone in her shallow pocket, and her thumb caught the green circle on the screen. She lifted the phone to her ear and cheerfully answered. "Hell-o!"

" _Can I pick you up?_ " The friendly voice of Neptune asked.

Ruby perked up at the offer. "You read my mind! Anything in mind?"

The other end of the line was silent for a second. " _Yes, but I can't tell you yet_ ," Neptune answered nervously. It was a strange tone, as Ruby rarely heard him nervous.

Ruby squinted at the rainfall outside. "This isn't another plot to make me friends, is it?"

Neptune laughed on the other end. " _No. Well, maybe in the long run, but no._ "

Ruby giggled. "Alright, I'm at the History building, waiting inside so the rain doesn't melt me."

" _I'll be there in like, thirty seconds_."

"Okie Doke. Bye!" Ruby swiped the red button on her screen and returned the device to her pocket. She shifted the books back into both arms and waited for the specific sound of a 2.9 liter engine that belonged to Neptune's sky blue Audi. Soon enough, she heard it.

The RS coupe rolled up in front of the doors and turned the heads of other students walking past her. Ruby smirked as Neptune hopped out of his car and flicked out an umbrella. "You don't have to do that, you know." She called out as she stepped through the doorway.

"Don't see you rejecting it," he said as he approached her. He held the umbrella above her head and led her to the passenger side. "Besides," he started as she popped open his door. "What kind of gentleman would I be if I didn't?"

Ruby laughed audibly as she sat down inside. He flipped his hand up questionably as he made his way around the car. She watched him round the front of his prized automobile and jump into the driver's seat.

"So," Ruby began as Neptune shifted the car into the correct gear. "What are you doing here?"

Neptune looked at her with a confused glance. "Picking you up. Duh."

"Har Har, Mr. Vasilias," she responded. Ruby leaned forward to mess with the heated seats. "Why did you pick me up?"

Neptune shifted uncomfortably in his seat, and Ruby took notice. "I kind of need your help with something, but to do that, I have to stretch some rules."

Ruby snickered. "And what rules are you going to break in _your_ company?"

He shot a look over at her. "I'm giving you a promotion." Ruby shot up from the dials and widened her eyes in disbelief. "You are?"

Neptune grinned. "I want to make you a full Department Engineer under Doctor Daniels."

Ruby leaned back and crossed her hands behind her head. "I knew I'd get the position. I'm just that good!" She beamed. She dropped her hands and twisted her head to look at him. "Will I still be working on the Auto Adjustment System?"

Neptune nodded. "Yes, and you will be for a while. For now, you're just getting the title. We'll see about your own team later."

Ruby leaned back, smiling. "So, what spurred this on?" She questioned.

Neptune took a breath. It wasn't loud, but it was audible enough that Ruby could feel his unease. "That's what I need your help with. You see, the Schnee Distribution company likes to have experienced engineers there during the presentations to answer technical questions."

Ruby's joy began to simmer as things fell into place. She slowly turned her head towards Neptune. "You'd have to present the Double-A-S to them," he finished.

Ruby sat up completely and shook her head. "Neptune, you know I don't like people! Why would you put me in this position?"

Neptune put up his hand and aimed his pointer finger to the ceiling of his car. "Now, know that I only want what's best for you. This is a big promotion with a huge pay raise. You could even get your own apartment!"

Ruby growled, making a sound more cute than terrifying. "Why do you want me to do it?"

Neptune lifted his shoulder to cover his face, as if expecting an assault. "I just think that Ms. Weiss Schnee will appreciate your knowledge on the system and your enthusiasm for the project."

Ruby fulfilled his request and slugged his arm. "You're just using me to sell your damn gun!"

Neptune rubbed his arm and faced her. "While that's true, someone has to do it! I picked you because of all the advantages it would bring!"

Ruby flopped back in her seat and crossed her arms. She pouted a bit and looked out into the gloom of the midday. _Motherfucking-_ "What if I say no?"

Neptune flashed a surprised glance at her. "Why would you say no?! This is the opportunity of a lifetime!"

Ruby felt appalled. "I don't like people!"

Neptune swung his hand back and forth. "No, no. Listen, there isn't anyone who knows this system like you do. Not even Daniels could explain the mechanics like you could."

Ruby sighed and looked out the window. _Maybe you should take the job._

 _Why should you give him what he wants?_

 _It's not like he's against you. And he's right about how much you know the system._

Ruby tilted her head back and forth as she argued with her internal voice. _Fine, just as long as we get a huge raise._

"How often would I have to talk in front of these executives?" Ruby asked using as bratty of a voice as she could muster.

Neptune shrugged. "It's whenever they request, but it only happens once a month at most."

Ruby took a deep breath and sighed. "Fine, I'll take the job." She eased up on her posture and got comfortable in the seat. "When do I sign the paperwork?"

Neptune pointed at his glove box. "It's already in there." Ruby reached inside and found a blue folder plastered with the company logo and flipped it open. "Have a read. While I'm not gonna screw you over, I don't want you signing something you'd regret."

Ruby smiled as she realized that her optimistic side was right. Neptune wasn't trying to screw her over. He may have even been trying to help her in the long run. After a year and a half, Neptune knew her pretty well, and wouldn't give her a challenge she couldn't handle. _You can do it, Rose. Talking to a couple of stuff executives won't be too bad._

She flipped through the paperwork, carefully reading each line on the employment contract. "So, when do I present?"

Neptune shifted his shoulder up again. "Two days." Ruby slugged him.


	5. The Boredroom (4)

Ruby brushed the bangs from her face for the sixth time since the executives from the Schnee Distribution Company entered the room.

...Two minutes ago.

Ruby nervously blew at her bangs as Neptune talked. He was giving his brief on the Auto-Adjustment Fire System to the set of representatives. Ruby watched as his assistant, Blake, fed him note cards. It was clear that he didn't need them, and he could talk his way through any situation, but Ruby was sure the data on the cards was important.

She looked over the representatives from the Schnee Distribution Company; a sort of shipping and asset company that circumvented the entire globe. The SDC was also one of Vasilias Weapon System's largest contracts. No, _the_ largest contract. Though, Ruby couldn't image what a shipping company could want with experimental weapon technology.

 _This isn't what I was expecting_ , she thought as she looked at all the members present. Ruby had expected a room full of old white men in badly tailored suits. What Ruby got was a room full of mostly people around her age, well dressed, and mostly women.

There was the head of the table, a young, fair skinned woman with stark white hair pulled into a ponytail. She wore an all white business suit with a knee length skirt to accompany it. Her face was stern, and it bore a faded scar on the left eye. Ruby considered what kind of fights they got into at the board meetings in the SDC.

Next to her was another young woman, but unlike the prior, she had finery red hair and wore several pieces of gold jewelry. Her suit was a creme color, but definitely unlike the rest of the women in the room, she wore pants with her suit. Ruby tried to follow her pen as she jotted down notes, but she could swear they were going to be useless, as the woman never looked down to review her notes. _If this were the movies, she would be a spy_.

The next representative that drew her attention was a man in his late forties. His hair was short cropped and dotted with salt and pepper. What really threw Ruby off was how he held himself with more pride than the other executives. His hands were tightly intertwined, and his posture was perfect, as though he'd spent years standing up straight. Ruby looked him over and swore there was a bulge under his left arm.

The other two executives looked bored and uninterested. One was an older man, who was exactly what Ruby expected from the meeting, and the other was a middle aged woman who might be the female embodiment of her expectations. Both looked ready to leave at any minute.

And then there was Ruby, sitting on Neptune's side of the table. She played with her fingers as she followed her instructions: _Sit there and look pretty for a while_. She looked at Neptune, who had just grinned to the room as he supposedly said something clever. Ruby was a bit startled as Dr. Daniels stood and motioned towards his boss. "Thank you, sir," he started.

Ruby tuned out again. According to her brief yesterday, Daniels was just going to go over the mechanics of the subsystem, and if there was one thing that Ruby knew, it was how the subsystem fired. _It redirects the pressure of the combustion in the rear of the rifle to cause a spin on the bullet and changes the trajectory…_ she droned on mentally, reciting the speech she knew Daniels would be giving.

She drifted off, thinking about how to improve a couple of glaring issues she'd come across in her time on the project. Her first was that you couldn't adjust anything in the field. This was a sensitive piece of equipment, and if anything wasn't calibrated properly, you couldn't fix it outside of a lab.

She smiled a little as she went to her happy place, and almost forgot where she was. When she remembered, she shook her head and bit and refocused her gaze. She found that she was staring right at the white haired executive that could only be Ms. Schnee. Ruby felt her face turn red as she realized that she'd been staring at Ms. Schnee, who was now staring back. Ruby shot her gaze away, though she could swear that Ms. Schnee was turning a little red, too.

Ruby shifted her eyes to peak at what Ms. Schnee was doing. Ruby felt her stomach sink as Ms. Schnee leaned over to Salt-and-Pepper and whispered something in his ear. Daniels must have notice, because he stuttered a bit as Ms. Schnee leaned back into her seat.

Soon enough, Dr. Daniels finished his speech about the system, and opened up the floor for questions. Ruby whined mentally as Ms. Schnee cleared her throat. She lifted a finger towards Ruby, and steadied her glare. "I would suppose that this is your project engineer I requested?"

Neptune spoke up for Ruby, thankfully. "Yes."

Weiss nodded for a second and turned towards Ruby, who waited patiently. After a couple of seconds of silence, Ruby looked around in shock. "Oh," she started, embarrassed. "Rose. Ms. Rose."

Weiss rolled her eyes a bit, pushing Ruby back into a hypothetical corner. "Ms. Rose, during Doctor Daniels presentation, something had you distracted. What was it?"

Ruby felt her face fade into a new shade of red, darker than the human eye could perceive. "I'm sorry, Ms. Schnee," she almost mumbled. "I didn't mean to-"

Ms. Schnee cut her off with the wave of a hand. "That's not my concern, Ms. Rose. You're an adult, and you are free to do as you please." Ruby expected the statement to be followed by the typical ' _but not in my boardroom'_ line, but it wasn't. "I want to know what you were thinking about."

Ruby sank into her seat, not knowing what to do. Ms. Schnee sighed and set her hands on the table. "I have spent enough time working with engineers to know that they are always working. I want to know what ideas were going through your head while you stared at me."

 _Oh good, she did notice!_ Ruby took a deep breath and looked to Neptune for support. He just shrugged and shortly waved his hand down the table. Ruby turned back towards Ms. Schnee and began to confess her issues. "This isn't practical to take into the field, because there's no way to adjust it if the system is unaligned."

Ruby paused, hoping it was enough.

It wasn't.

Ms. Schnee looked to Salt-and-Pepper for a second and then turned back towards her. "What could cause the system to become unaligned?"

Ruby took another deep breath. "Well, if you dropped it or got it dirty, the internal mechanisms might be pushed out of place."

The older executive scoffed and wrote something down on his notepad. Ruby looked down into her lap and glanced up through her hair. To her surprise, Ms. Schnee was giving a deadly glare to the SDC executive. "Do you have something to add?" She questioned.

He looked up a bit surprised and glanced around. "I... just think that she's a little young for this. She can't even speak up."

Ms. Schnee nodded in agreement, further ensuring Ruby's doubts in this new position. "You're right," Ms. Schnee said. Ruby started to shake in her seat, wanting nothing more than to leave. "But everyone has to start somewhere. Just as you started selling newspapers to my father, Ms. Rose is just starting to do this." Ruby looked up and met Ms. Schnee's gaze, which was reassuring, but still stern. "In fact," she continued. "I'd wager that Ms. Rose is much smarter than you, because it only took her a few years to get into a boardroom, while it took you more than forty."

Ruby snickered under her breath and looked to the executive. His eyes were wide and his mouth agape. Ruby looked at the other executives, who were less shocked.

Ms. Schnee turned back to Ruby, who was sure she still looked like a deer in headlights. "Mr. Ironwood," Ms. Schnee asked. "What do you think of Ms. Rose's input?"

Salt-and-Pepper scratched his chin. "I don't think this is a field weapon. You don't need a weapon that can aim for you if you've already been trained."

"So where do you recommend this gets used?" Ms. Schnee said, still looking at Ruby.

He glanced down at Ms. Schnee. "I would say basic security. People who still have a little trouble pointing their gun in the right direction."

"Well, Ms. Rose?" Ms. Schnee's voice was proud, but curious. "Does that decision align with your professional observation?"

Ruby nodded rapidly, attempting to quicken the pace of the conversation and move it away from herself. Ms. Schnee smiled, but it was more of a triumphant smirk than a pleasant grin. "Mr. Vasilias, can you guarantee that your system will work by the deadline?"

Neptune smiled and pointed back to Ruby, who closed her eyes and wished that he didn't. "I can do more than guarantee it. Ms. Rose here can show you."

Ruby slowly nodded her head and stood from her chair. She took a deep breath and looked at Ms. Schnee, who still seemed like a threat, but not a threat to herself, just everyone else. She spun on her heels and made her way towards the door of the board room. "Follow me, please. I'll take you to the lab."

…

Ruby entered the firing range attached to the development lab that she worked in. Ruby shuddered as the set of executives entered the room behind her. "Excuse the mess. I was not told I would be demonstrating the project today, and was not expecting company."

Ruby made her way to a locked weapon crate sitting near the edge of the range. She knelt down, carefully keeping her knees together. _You're wearing a skirt. Lady like_.

She glanced down the range as she flipped the latches on the case. She still had several targets set up from the last time she test fired, which consisted of red markings that the computer attached to the rifle understood as enemies.

She allowed herself to smile. _You may not be good at social interaction, but now they get to see your work_.

Ruby lifted the lid and peaked into the crate. Inside rested a lone ArmaLite rifle with a small monitor jutting off the side. She reached inside and withdrew the weapon, admiring its beauty as she tucked it into her shoulder.

She stood swiftly, twirling on her heels and making of show of her proper weapon stance. She faced her body down range and twisted her head backwards. "If everyone could please put on their ear protection, it would be much appreciated," she said as she twisted the small ear plugs into her own ears.

She yanked on the charging handle, feeling the mechanism inside fall into place as a round was lodged into the chamber of the gun. The stock of the rifle rested in her shoulder as she positioned herself to fire. She took a deep breath and unlocked the safety with her thumb. Her pointer finger wrapped around the trigger and she smiled.

She pointed the rifle slightly to the left of her target, deliberately. She pulled the trigger and felt the weapon jerk upward. It pushed into her shoulder and shifted her body weight. Ruby grinned widely as she peered down the range, noticing a hole where the red marking once was.

She repositioned the gun and fired again in the general direction of another target. Same result. She laughed a bit, and fired again. Several more rounds left the barrel of the gun. After a total of ten rounds, she lowered the gun and flipped the safety back on.

Ruby turned towards the group of executives, proud as she could be. What she found was a mixed reaction. While the redhead and Ironwood showed looks of satisfaction, Ms. Schnee had a look more resembling intrigue. The other two just looked bored. "Well, I'm glad it hits stationary targets," the woman said.

Ruby grew frustrated. "It can hit anything marked as a target!" She argued.

Mr. Ironwood cleared his throat. "Ms. Rose, could you demonstrate that for us?"

Ruby set the gun against one of the dividers near her and marched into the lab. She returned with a box of supplies and set them down on a table in the room. Ruby strode over to the woman and swiped the binder from under her arm. The woman was taken aback as Ruby walked over and slapped a bunch of the markings on both sides of the cover.

Ruby handed the binder to Mr. Ironwood with an innocent facade. "Mr. Ironwood, would you please throw this down range when I yell pull?"

Ironwood chuckled and took the binder from her hands. Ruby picked up the rifle and glanced back to her own company reps one last time before firing. Daniels looked appalled, Blake looked excited, and Neptune looked amused. _Neptune isn't saying no. Do it Rose!_

She flipped the safety and looked down range. "Pull!" She shouted. Ruby followed the black binder down the range. She pointed the rifle level with the back wall and began to pulled the trigger. Each shot hit, sending scraps of paper flying around the long corridor. Ruby smiled as the remains bounced on the floor.

She looked up at Mr. Ironwood, still pointing the rifle down range. He smiled and looked down at her. "Very good show, Ms. Rose."

…

 _I knew it was a mistake_ , Ruby argued as she sat outside of Neptune's office. _No you didn't! You wanted to shoot the damn book!_

Neptune had entered the office with Ms. Schnee several minutes ago to discuss 'the actions taken during his presentation.' Ruby knew she was in trouble. She sat in a single chair just outside his door like a kid waiting for the principle. It was dreadful, and Ruby felt childish.

The door to Neptune's office opened slowly, and Ruby contorted in her seat to try and meet the gaze of whomever was stepping out. She found Neptune looking down at her with a disappointed grin. Her heart sank. "Come on in, Ruby," he said in a solemn voice.

Ruby stood and quickly made her way into the office. Neptune's office was a fairly modern space with blue overtones and glass everywhere. Just in front of his desk were two cushioned chairs, and occupying one of them was Weiss Schnee. Ruby took a seat in the other, sinking deep into the cushioning.

Ms. Schnee took notice and shifted her stare, which was much less stern than it previously was, and mocked his furniture choice. "I told you to get new chairs. These are atrocious."

Confusion overtook Ruby as she searched for Neptune, who was just walking past her own chair. "I'll keep that in mind," he said as he took a seat in the large chair behind his desk.

He crossed his hands and looked at Ruby. Ruby searched for some semblance of joy in his face, but there seemed to be little. "Ms. Schnee here has assured me that her company will still be holding their contract for the Double-A-S, as long as I meet a few conditions."

Ruby was fired. She knew it. There was no other reason that Neptune would be this down, or that the previously cranky Ms. Schnee would be this pleasant. Ruby opened her mouth and began to ramble. "I'm sorry I failed you, I just got upset that they insulted my work and as you know I know that I'm not good with people but you know that I try really hard on my work and you didn't say no and Mr. Ironwood didn't say no and I didn't know that I would be in this much troub-" Neptune raised a finger.

"I'm not firing you, Ruby." Ruby shut her mouth, afraid to even breath.

Ms. Schnee cleared her throat. "On the contrary, Ms. Rose, I was impressed with your show." Ruby felt her chest tighten as she received the complement from Ms. Schnee. "There aren't many people who are brave enough to stand up to my entourage, and even fewer who are willing to defend their with such ferocity as you do." Ruby could swear that Ms. Schnee was smiling.

Her smiled definitely faded though as Ruby began to run out of air. "You can breath again, Ms. Rose," she said, annoyed.

Ruby opened her mouth and gasped. "Sorry," she whispered in a high pitched tone.

Ruby looked to Neptune, who still looked disappointed. "The bad news, for you at least, is that Ms. Schnee wants personal updates on the project more often than her company previously received them." Ruby held her breath again as she realized the amount of social contact she was going to have to put up with.

Neptune rolled his eyes. "Breath, Ruby. I told her how much trouble it is to get you to talk to people, and she agreed that the updates would just include herself and you." Ruby took another breath, but much shallower than she needed. _I still have to deal with this icy monster!_

Ms. Schnee spoke up. "And Mr. Ironwood if I need his input, but you seemed okay with him." Her tone had changed, but her steely gaze had not. Ruby assumed that Ms. Schnee wasn't very good at making jokes.

Ms. Schnee cleared her throat and looked around the room, suddenly moving. "It was very nice to see you, Neptune," she said, struggling to stand from her chair. As Ms. Schnee made her way towards the office door, she turned to Ruby, who held her breath again. "It was nice meeting you, Ms. Rose. I'm glad to be seeing more of you in the future."

With that, she was gone, leaving Ruby and Neptune alone in the office together. Ruby turned to Neptune with wide eyes and a panicked expression. He sighed. "You can breath again, Ruby."


	6. The Long Haul (5)

Shadows loomed at the edges of the lab, growing darker as the day drew to an end. The room was devoid of light, save a lone lamp sitting in the center of the room, pointed at a lone table.

Ruby sat by herself admits a mess of mechanical components and tools. Her fingers tinkered with the prototype for the new rifle subsystem she'd been asked to design.

She sighed as she lifted the mini screwdriver from the prototype and shook her hand in frustration. She glared down at her appendage and rested it and the tool on the surface of the white table. She swallowed some air and took a deep breath as the frustration began to build.

Her eyes drifted up to the glass walls that separate her from the rest of the building. They were frosted, so Ruby couldn't see through them, but she could make out the light on the other side. The only source was that of the fluorescent tubes in the ceiling of the hallway. The sun had gone down, marking the end of everyone else's day, but not hers.

Ruby opened her palm and let the screwdriver fall onto the table. With her hand now free, she reached for the cup of coffee sitting just out of the way. She stretched, cursing to herself for putting it just out of her reach during the last frustrated sip. Ruby swiped her hand, and caught the mug's handle. She smiled as she drew the mug in closer to herself.

She lifted the rim to her lips and sipped at the black liquid. Her face scrunched up as she swallowed the bitter coffee. "Gross," she said, repeating the same phrase that she had every sip for the past hour. The coffee was cold and black, and ruby desperately wished for some sugar, or some cream, or even some chocolate.

Black coffee wasn't ideal, but caffeine was required for her to keep putting in the long nights that she was. She looked over at the table next to her and made eye contact with her reflection in a shiny box on the table. She frowned at the bugs under her eyes, and pulled at the skin on her cheek to get a better look at them.

She looked back down at the prototype in front of her and took a deep breath before lifting the mug and taking another sip of the lab's black sludge they considered coffee.

Ruby slid the mug away from her, hoping the distance between her and the ceramic cup would prevent her from taking another sip. _Oh yeah. That's why I put it so far away._ She grabbed the screwdriver again and tighten the last piece of the puzzle in front of her.

Since that fateful meeting with the SDC, Neptune had instructed Ruby to make the Auto-Adjustment Fire System shoot bullets at an automatic rate. Initially, Ruby thought he was joking. The system's primary function was to prevent the need to fire a bunch. He wasn't, and Ruby was stuck trying to succeed at an impossible task.

She crossed her fingers as she reached over to the keyboard and hit the start button on the test. It was the sixth time tonight that she'd been able to get it to actually run through the dry simulation. Prior to that, it just jammed every time she tried to fire it too quickly.

As the simulation booted up, she recalled the words Neptune had left her with, along with a large stack of paperwork defining the parameters for the system: ' _I've seen you pull off much more impossible miracles._ '

Ruby crossed her fingers as the little parts began to move. She recognized the first shot, then the second, a third, a fourth; Ruby grinned as the system hit the fifth shot. It was the furthest she'd gotten that evening.

Then the clicking started. Ruby looked down in disappointment as one of the moving pieces got stuck and soon after, the whole system failed. She rolled her head to face the monitor, and sure enough, several dozen errors were being listed in the Bios. She whined at another failure, noting that it would still be a while before she could go home. _Maybe Ms. Schnee won't mind a burst fire gun._

Ruby's ears perked up at the sound of footsteps and chatting coming from the hallway. She leaned over in her chair to try and get a better look through the frosted glass, but whoever was out there was still to far down one end of the hallway.

Ruby looked around for some kind of weapon, just in case the intruders weren't here for a friendly chat. _You work in a weapons lab, and you can't find a weapon._

Ruby grabbed one of the screwdrivers and watched as the voices drew closer. As they reached the edge of the glass walls, a familiar gait came into view. A tall, blue haired figure walked with someone else towards the door. Ruby set the screwdriver down as she realized it was Neptune.

Ruby then saw a figure with fiery red hair following behind him, and realization set in for Ruby. _It can't be her. Not this soon._

She watched Neptune's figure swipe his hand over the card reader by the door and whined with the beeping of the electronic locks to the lab. "Whyyy?"

Neptune entered the room, leading Weiss Schnee into Ruby's workspace. Ruby's shouldered sank and she cried internally. _I'm not ready yet!_

They chatted pleasantly about what Ruby assumed were SDC business practices, though the bit about robots confused her and made her unsure of the guess.

Neptune turned towards Ruby, a pleasant grin on his face. "Ruby, Ms. Schnee is here to check on your progress," he said, gently holding his hands towards the chief executive of the SDC.

Ruby clenched her teeth together. "I figured when you brought her into my lab," she growled. Ruby took a breath and put her hands together to face Ms. Schnee. "I apologize, Ma'am, but I have not finished with the requested modifications yet. I will be sure to let you know as soon as my work is done," Ruby said, more rude than intended. Well, more than was acceptable anyway.

Ms. Schnee nodded, not really looking at Ruby, but rather the equipment on her table. "I understand that, Ms. Rose. I was not expecting you to complete the modifications yet." Ms. Schnee stood next to Ruby and leaned over the prototype. Ruby pushed herself back behind Ms. Schnee and held up her hands, a look of irritated confusion on her brow accompanying them.

Neptune's only response was a knowing smile, which only irritated Ruby more. _What are you not telling me?_ Her eyes searched Neptune's, who retained the information slyly. Neptune leaned on the table and pointed at Ruby. "Ms. Schnee asked to get some personal time with her new favorite engineer," Neptune said, drawing a hazardous look from Ms. Schnee. "And I knew you'd be up here late, so I offered she come up and ask any questions she wants."

Ruby shook her head in shock. "And you didn't ask me if that was a good idea? I'd say this is pretty confidential work. You made me sign a bunch of papers to even get into the lab!"

Neptune waved her off and shook his head. "Weiss wouldn't do that to me, would you?" Ms. Schnee held an annoyed look with him.

Neptune looked down at the table and grabbed Ruby's coffee cup. Ruby watched as he took a sip and grimaced. "Gross," he said as he set the mug back down. He turned back towards them and clasped his hands together. "Well, I'm gonna leave you guys too it. I'll be in my office."

Ruby shot out of her chair. "You're leaving me here?"

Ms. Schnee snapped a hand to her chest, and Ruby watched her face change from annoyance to fear. "You're leaving _me_ here?"

Neptune shifted his eyes between them and tucked his hands into his suit pants. "Yeah," he admitted. "My Company has twelve other projects that require my attention. I can't babysit you." Ruby felt offended that he thought she needed to be taken care of, but realized that she wasn't sure who he was talking to. He waved at them and turned to leave, wearing a smug grin the whole way out.

Ruby and Ms. Schnee stood there and watched him talk to the redhead on the other side of the door for a minute before making his way down the hallway. Finally, Ruby sighed and walked over to another table, grabbing a stool. "I suppose if you're stuck here, you'd like a seat."

Ms. Schnee crossed her hands behind her back and looked uncomfortable. As Ruby approached her, she took note of Ms. Schnee's outfit. Instead of a stark business suit that made her look evil, Ms. Schnee wore a lightweight white dress with a white and red jacket covering her arms. To Ruby, she almost looked like a normal person. _Maybe even kinda cute._

 _What?_

Ruby shook it off as she set the chair down near her own, but not too close. Ms. Schnee took a seat, and Ruby returned to her own. "Thank you," Ms. Schnee offered. Ruby gave her and awkward smile and returned to her work.

"So," Ruby attempted. "What do you want to know so I can back to fulfilling your request, Ms. Schnee?"

Ms. Schnee looked at the system. "I need to…" She cleared her throat. "I mean, Neptune and Doctor Daniels explained how this works in theory, but I wanted to see how it functions." She crossed her hands in her lap. "And you can call me Weiss, as long as we're in private."

Ruby looked up at Weiss, staring into her eyes for a second. As Ruby felt her cheeks get flush, she darted her eyes back down to the prototype. "Well-Uhm. You see," Ruby stumbled. "It moves the-" Ruby stopped. "Look Ms-Weiss. I don't mean to be rude, but I don't know if you'd understand how it functions."

Weiss scowled. "I can speak seven languages, Ms. Rose, and I understand Theoretical Physics. I think I can grasp the basic functions of a gun."

Ruby put her hand up in defense. "I'm sorry. I didn't know someone in your position would have such a strong grasp on science." Ruby reached into the mechanism and loosened one of the pressure points.

Weiss readjusted her posture and tilted her chin up. "I make it my business to understand as many of my company's assets as I can, Ms. Rose." She watched Ruby tinker with the system for a few moments.

Ruby tightened up the last bar and looked up at Weiss. "No guarantee this will work," she confessed. Ruby turned to the keyboard and his the start key. She turned back to Weiss, who looked surprisingly interested in the project. "And it's Ruby. If I can call you Weiss, you can call me Ruby."

They held eye contact for a minute, and Weiss brushed some of the hair out of her face. The sudden ambience of mechina drew their attention to the table, and Ruby began to count the shots. She held her breath as it hit five, and waited for the jam. _Six, seven, eight,_ she counted.

It finally jammed on the ninth shot, but Ruby threw her fists in the air. Weiss shot back to avoid the brunette's sudden enthusiasm. "Was that good?" Weiss asked.

Ruby turned to face Weiss, giving her the biggest grin she could. "It's the farthest I've made it, and it passed the minimum mark for the modification," Ruby chimed happily.

Weiss waited patiently for Ruby to stop humming as she loosened up the system. "Do you think you could explain it now?" Weiss asked. There was some attitude in her voice, but Ruby, in a much better mood for the evening, decided to overlook it. After all, she would have to spend more time with Weiss if she wanted to keep her job, so she might as well enjoy it. She smiled at Weiss and waved her closer. "Here, let me show you."


	7. As-Sis-tance (6)

The ceramic plate made a screeching noise when Ruby slid her sandwich to the other side of the counter, in front of her favorite stool. She eyed the peanut butter and jelly aggressively as her legs carried around the kitchen towards her seat. The delicate creation was lifted to the edge of her lips, and she dug her teeth into the soft bread. Bits of jelly squeezed from between each slice and into her mouth.

Ruby moaned with joy as she swallowed the bite. Her tongue carefully scraped peanut butter from the roof of her mouth. As she concentrated on picking out each bit of peanut, the front  
door to the apartment flew open and Yang ran in. Ruby watched her sister toss her bag on the counter, while in the same step grab a glass and tall amber bottle from the cabinets.

Yang dropped the glass and bottle on the counter and flipped open the freezer door with the enthusiasm of a honey badger. "How was your day, Sis?" Yang asked. Ruby opened her mouth just as Yang dropped several ice cubes into her glass. "Oh," Yang interrupted before Ruby could answer. "Mine, you ask?" Yang poured a generous amount of the amber whiskey into her glass. "Well, I just became the first female bouncer at the bar I like."

Ruby giggled and smiled at her sister. "You mean that bar you never leave?"

Yang stuck her tongue out at Ruby mockingly. She took a sip and rounded the counter to sit next to Ruby. "Well, I guess I was just perfect for the job, 'cause they asked me to start immediately."

Ruby took another bite of her sandwich. "You do have a thing for starting fights."

Her sister reached over and grabbed the sandwich from her hand. "Yeah, but now I'm finishing them." Yang took a large bite out of Ruby's sandwich. Ruby whimpered while Yang took her lunch into the living room.

Yang flopped down onto the couch and took a sip of her drink. "So, why'd you get home so late last night?"

Ruby stood from her stool and crossed her arms, tapping her elbow in an impatient manner. "So you weren't too busy with someone last night?" Ruby said, making her way over towards the couch.

"I'm only busy some nights, and last night I was home to notice that you weren't." Ruby swiped the sandwich and took a large bite. "Hey," her sister complained in response.

Ruby stuck out her tongue and walked back to the countertop. "Since you're avoiding the question, I take it you were out with your boy toy?" Yang added.

Ruby sat down on her stool and spun around to face her sister. "I'll have you know I was at work." Ruby took another bite of her sandwich.

Yang crawled up on the couch and bent over the back, facing Ruby. Long strands of yellow hair covered the dark gold lenses. She tipped her sunglasses down and winked. "So you were with your boy toy."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "No, I was in the lab by myself for most of the night." She took the last bite of the sandwich, ensuring Yang would be devoid of jellyey  
goodness.

Yang rolled upside down and removed her glasses. "So, for the rest of it you were having scandalous sex, right?"

Ruby picked up a bottle cap sitting next to her and tossed it at her sister, who threw her arm up defensively. It bounced harmlessly off of Yang's forearm. "Neptune isn't interested," Ruby stated with a mild pout. "Besides, Neptune wasn't even the one with me in the lab," Ruby replied hastily. As soon as the words left her mouth, it became clear it was a mistake. Ruby pressed on her temples with her fingers as Yang's eyes lit up.

"My baby sister _is_ spending some alone time with someone!"

Ruby threw her hands in the air and rolled her head. "Why is everything about sex with you? No one is into me! It was just Ms. Sch- I mean, Weiss."

Yang placed her chin on her hands and made a cooing noise. "First name basis, are we?"

Ruby dropped her hands and curled them into fists. "She's the buyer of my project."

Yang gave Ruby a seductive smirk. "She buying your goods?" Yang gave another wink and then dropped back onto the couch to grab her drink.

"My goods aren't for sale." Ruby squeezed the bridge of her nose and sighed. "And I'm pretty sure that her and Neptune have a thing, so that rules both of them out."

Yang strolled over to Ruby and wrapped an arm tightly around her shoulder. "Did lover boy finally give up on you."

Ruby lowered her gaze, annoyed at first, but slowly letting what her sister said sink in. _What if he is off the table?_ Ruby considered the possibility that she had missed her chance to ask Neptune, and her heart began to sink. "Oh my God, what if he did?"

Yang gave her sister an exaggerated empathetic look. As seconds passed, Ruby's terrified gaze made it clear that she wasn't kidding. _What little chances I had are dead. If he and Weiss are dating, then I've lost two options!_

 _What?_

Ruby shook it off as she went and sat on the couch. Yang sighed and followed her. She sat down next to Ruby and waved her hands in front of Ruby's shell-shocked eyes. "It's not that bad, Sis. You don't want a guy like Neptune, anyway. You'd always be worrying about who else he wants to take to bed, and not in a good way."

Ruby shook her head but continued to stare at space straight ahead of her. "I don't have that many friends, Yang! My options aren't extensive on guys."

Yang wrapped her arm around Ruby, more gentle than previously. "You don't have to close yourself off to just guys," Yang said with a shrug.

 _Weiss is pretty cute._

"No, ew. I don't like girls like that." Ruby shook her head as she thought about the intricacy of being with a girl. _At least she'd know where to press._

 _Stop! Gross!_

Yang jumped up from her spot and shook her glass of ice. Her hand landed comfortingly on Ruby's shoulder a few times and she turned towards the kitchen. "You think about things too much, Ruby." Yang disappeared and Ruby sighed. _What are you gonna do?_

"I know that look," Yang said as she poured another glass. "Stop worrying about it. While I'm sure Dad wouldn't want you interested in boys anyway, I'm sure that would tell you he was much happier after marrying Summer as opposed to my mom. Don't worry so much about your first pick. Someone better will come along later, and you just don't even know it yet."

Ruby sank back into the couch and looked over at her sister. To her surprise, Yang now had two glasses of whiskey in her hands. She slipped one to Ruby, who took it hesitantly. Her expression was riddled with confusion at Yang, who rolled her eyes back at the trouble as she sipped her own. "Drink up, it'll stop all the worrying."

Ruby squinted at Yang. "I don't think that's healthy," she argued.

Yang turned to the hallway and stretched. "It's fine until you drink as much as me."

Ruby took a sip of the amber ambrosia and grimaced. "Gross," she complained as she went to take another sip. "Why do you drink this?"

Yang called out from her bedroom. "Because it tastes better than most, and it works."

Ruby groaned as she took another drink, allowing the warm feeling in her stomach to reach out. As she sipped at the glass and watched the weather outside, she began to feel light, and pleasant. She noticed her mind slow down as the liquor took effect. _This does work!_ Ruby thought.

She felt her phone buzz, just when she was beginning to feel buzzed.

She flipped over the screen and glanced down at the name. _Of course, it's you_. She took a deep breath before picking up the phone. "Yes, Neptune?" She felt the irritation and worry return, opting to take another sip. _Maybe I should drink this more._

" _Well, I've never heard that tone before. Am I interrupting something?_ " Ruby couldn't really tell, but it sounded like Neptune was worried. _You should be!_

Ruby sighed and rubbed the side of her head. "I'm spending time with my sister. What do you need?"

" _Oh,_ " Neptune's tone featured a lot of disappointment. " _Well, would you want to grab dinner? I got a thing that I need to talk to you about._ "

Ruby shook her head and dropped her fist onto the couch, splashing a bit of her drink onto her hand. Ruby took another breath and focused on the phone. "Not today, Neptune. I don't really wanna play any more games."

Neptune remained silent for a second, and Ruby hoped he would drop it. " _Well,_ " he continued,  
not dropping it. " _I'm sorry if I've angered you, but I'm sorta running out of time, and you don't work tomorrow._ "

Ruby tightened her lips and shallowly bounced her head a few times. "Fine, what is it?"

Ruby was sure she wasn't being easy, and that was her plan. " _Well, the Schnee's are throwing a little soiree, and I wanted you to come along._ "

"You want me to come to a party with you? Wouldn't that upset Weiss?" Ruby said irritably.

" _No?_ " Neptune responded with a quizzical tone. " _I'm sure she'd be overjoyed to see you there. Should it?_ "

Ruby shook her head and rapidly waved her hand "Never mind. Why should I go with you?"

" _Because it would be great networking for you, and I need the favor._ " Ruby curled her fingers into her palm and took another drink.

Yang walked into the room and evidently took notice of Ruby's attitude. "What's he want?" She leaned over the back of the couch and placed her head on Ruby's shoulder, waiting for a response.

Ruby rolled her head and glared at her sister. "He wants me to be his date to some party."

Yang's eyes popped wide and she leaned closer to Ruby's phone. "She'd love to be your date!" Yang shouted into the small microphone.

Ruby dropped her phone down to her chest and covered the microphone with her shirt. "Yang!"

Ruby heard Neptune mumbling into her boobs and picked the phone back up to her ear. " _...your sister, and since she's offering, I have full faith she can find you a nice outfit."_

"Are you saying I don't know how to dress?" she asked furiously.

There was a chuckle on the other end of the phone. " _Ruby._ " Neptune paused, presumably for dramatic effect. " _Your style isn't really 'fancy party'. It's more 'casual teenage girl'._ "

"I am a teenage girl!" Ruby shouted at her phone.

" _I'll text you the details when I have them._ " Ruby swore he made a clicking noise and groaned at the imaginary finger guns that must have existed on his side of the conversation. "See ya' later."

Ruby dropped her phone onto the couch and downed the rest of her drink. She laid her head on the back of the couch and pushed back until her sister came into view. Yang winked at Ruby before giving her a big smile. "Have fun, little Sis."


	8. Party Foul (7)

If anything, Ruby was unrelenting and wasn't going to fall for Neptune's smooth personality. It was, however, beginning to worry her that he'd taken his eyes off the road for more than three minutes without looking back.

Ruby was not pleased with him, and she wanted him to know it. She recognized that she may be going a little overboard with the 'not talking to him' course of action, but bad driving was not the right response.

Ruby gasped as she felt her weight shift. Her eyes shot to the windshield to find Neptune was veering off the highway. The car hit the rumble strips, and Ruby let panic take over. "Neptune!" She screamed. Her hand flew over to his arm and her nails dug into the sleeve of his dress shirt.

"Neptune Vasilias!" She cried again, hoping for some kind of response.

"Not until you tell me what's wrong," he stated calmly, as though he _wasn't_ driving off the road.

Ruby turned to him, afraid. "Are you telling me you'd wreck your Audi and kill us both because I won't tell you why I'm mad?"

Neptune shrugged casually and tilted his head in agreement. Ruby watched as his knee shifted down closer to the floor, and his hand maneuvered the car into a higher gear. The speedometer climbed, and Ruby gave up. "Fine! I'll tell you!"

Neptune calmly smiled and downshifted the car, now driving at a reasonable speed. When the car was aligned with the highway and not the field next to it, Ruby allowed herself to breathe. She choked down her breath several times in an attempt to calm down, but her heart was still racing. "Well?" He asked.

Ruby turned to him and shot an evil glare. "You're fucking crazy!"

He grinned at her and gave a hearty chuckle. "You think I'd actually wreck my Audi? Come on, this thing costs a fortune." He placed his hand back on the gear shifter. "Now tell me what your problem is."

Ruby licked her lips and took a breath in order to buy herself some time. She didn't want to tell him, but if it was between telling him and death, she supposed the former would be preferable.

"I uhm-" Ruby shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she tried to formulate the words. "I think you and Weiss are sleeping together and I got jealous 'cause I don't have that many friends and I don't have anyone that finds me attractive and you're super cool and handsome so I thought I'd lost any chance of dating you and then I just got super sad and Yang gave me whiskey to calm my nerves but it did the opposite and I really don't pl-" Neptune placed his hand over Ruby's mouth, creating a tight seal. He was smirking, and trying not to laugh. Ruby was almost mad at him until he removed his hand.

He moved his finger into a "one-second" hand gesture and opened his mouth. Ruby watched as he searched for whatever it was he was looking for. After a few moments, his lips closed and he spoke. "Weiss and I aren't sleeping together," he stated flatly.

 _There's no way_ , Ruby thought. She glared into his eyes, searching for the truth. To her surprise, he didn't appear to be lying. "Why not?" She asked.

Neptune smiled and shrugged. "I'm just not her type, Ruby."

Ruby threw her hands into the air, smacking the roof of the car. "But you'd be a power couple!"

Neptune laughed, "She'd ultimately take control of my father's company if we dated."

Ruby grew silent and stared at her knees. "Oh," she finally responded.

Neptune looked over again. "And I do think you're attractive, Ruby."

Ruby continued to stare at her knees, only now she was hiding the shade of her cheeks. "Oh."

"You never showed any interest in dating me, so I figured that, you know, you weren't interested," he continued.

Ruby turned her head away from him, feeling his eyes fixated on her. "Well," she stammered. "I never really thought about it until recently."

Neptune set his hand on her shoulder. Ruby liked the feeling of the human contact, but it felt more brotherly instead of romantic. "Look," he started. Ruby looked back at him to make eye contact for the first time since the conversation began. His eyes were sweet instead of smooth, and for just a moment, Ruby felt special.

"If, at the end of the evening, you still want me to take you out, I'll plan us a real date."

Ruby smiled at him and nodded. "I'd like that."

…

Neptune led Ruby into the ballroom at some fancy country club out in the California hillsides. Much to Ruby's dismay, she missed the title of the property and had no knowledge of where she was, as she'd fallen asleep in the car and was woken up only when Neptune started arguing with a valet on who could park his car. Neptune won.

Ruby looked around the ballroom as Neptune chatted idly with random party-goers. As she studied the guest attire, she felt immaturely underdressed. While most of the guests wore fancier outfits with floofs and frills, Ruby wore a straight, red party dress that her sister had picked out for her.

Though, she did consider Neptune, who was only wearing dress slacks and a dress shirt as opposed to the common theme of 'Tuxedo'.

It was then that Ruby noticed the long table of food. She felt like she floated to the delectables as she yanked Neptune along with her. Instead of starting at the left end of the table and making her way through the fancy hors-d'oeuvres and entrees, Ruby cut several esteemed guests and went straight for the final table; the deserts. Before Neptune could even catch up to her, Ruby had stuffed her mouth with one cookie too many.

Weiss' voice drew Ruby's attention away from her cookies, much to her disappointment. "Took you long enough." _This better be good,_ she thought.

Ruby spun around to face Weiss, who stood in front of her wearing a white dress that sported the perfect amount of poof along the hem, but still felt very modern thanks to the mesh fabric at her shoulders and stark white coloring. Weiss' ponytail was pulled into a messy, yet completely organized bun, and her scar looked almost non-existent.

There was also a glow about her that Ruby couldn't put her finger on. When Weiss turned to at Ruby, she realized Weiss wasn't giving her signature scowl. "Oh, you brought me something pretty to look at," Weiss cooed. _Well, that wasn't expected,_ Ruby pondered.

Weiss stepped closer to Ruby, extending her leg in front of Ruby's only escape route. Ruby looked over at Neptune. _Why is she giving me these power vibes?_

Neptune looked on with the same knowing smile he'd given her several nights prior. Ruby looked up at Weiss, who stood a little taller than herself. "Hi, Ms. Sschneee," Ruby stumbled.

Weiss shook her head and leaned closer. "I told you to call me Weissss," she said, slurring her own name. It was then that Ruby realized what the glow was, and why she was acting funny. She looked over at Neptune, who tilted his head at the glass in her hands.

Weiss took another step closer to Ruby, who in turn stepped back. She gave another pleading look to Neptune, who finally saw fit to help. He stepped between them and lifted her glass to eye level between them. "Alright, sweetie. What do we have here?"

He took a sip from her glass and nodded in approval. "Strawberry Daiquiris tonight?"

Weiss snickered and used Neptune's shoulder to balance herself. "I like the red," she said, pointing at Ruby, who couldn't figure out if it was her, or the drink.

He smiled and stood her on her own feet. "Four?"

She shook her head and smiled at both of them. "Six." She raised her eyebrows, as though they should be impressed.

Neptune nodded and took another swig. "Why are you drinking doubles? Is your father here?"

Weiss leaned in close to him and whispered in a really low voice, "So is yours."

Neptune's expression went from pleasant to worry, and Ruby was sill confused. He turned to Ruby suddenly and spoke with a grim tone. "I hate to ask you-" Ruby was shaking her head rapidly as he finished his request. "-But I need you to watch Weiss while I get a drink."

Ruby didn't have time to object, as Neptune disappeared to the bar before she could open her mouth.

Ruby stood there with Weiss, who was eyeing her up and down hungrily. Ruby ate her cookies carefully, not taking an eye off of Weiss. _At least she's easy to look at._

Ruby felt a sudden tug on her arm and lurched away from the cookie plate. She found herself being pulled to the center of the room by a surprisingly strong Weiss. "Where are we going?" Ruby squealed, probably drawing more attention than she wanted.

Weiss stopped, and Ruby regained her footing. She looked around at all the people dancing and realized where Weiss took her. _Oh no._ "I like this song, so we're gonna dance to it," Weiss demanded.

Ruby shook her head. "I can't dance." She knew that it was a lame excuse, and knew that Weiss probably wouldn't take it, but it was worth a shot if it got her out of the spotlight to several bemused party guests.

Weiss smiled and stepped closer. "Don't worry," she reassured Ruby. "I'll show you."

"Place your foot there." Weiss pressed against Ruby's foot with her own, lingering just longer than required for direction. She traced the tip of her shoe across Ruby's opened toes.

"Your hand goes on my arm, here." Weiss placed her hand on Ruby's and directed it into place. Ruby noted how soft Weiss' fingers were, and relished the light touch.

"Take my other hand," Weiss said, extending both of their arms until Ruby had to intertwine her own fingers with Weiss'. "Tightly," she whispered in Ruby's ear.

"And finally, I place my hand back here." She ran her hand along Ruby's waist. Ruby felt her face, and most of her body, redden as Weiss' hand ran along her panty-line to the small of her back.

"And you follow." Weiss took a step backward, and Ruby mirrored it. Ruby felt her knees weaken as Weiss led her around their dancing space. As she got closer to Weiss, Ruby found an unexpected set of pleasant feelings. She was uncomfortable and unsure of herself, but a pleasant feeling rested in her stomach nonetheless.

That was, until Weiss' hand moved south. Ruby let out a short yelp as Weiss' hand cupped Ruby's butt and constricted. Weiss' breath hitched in Ruby's ear, causing Ruby to shake with an unknown feeling.

"Weiss?"

"Yes, Ruby?" Weiss responded sensually.

"Can you please let go?"

Weiss' hand slid back up to the small of her back, but not before playing with the liner of her underwear a little, and feeling up Ruby's waist. _I think I was just molested by my Best Friend's Ex_ , Ruby thought as she continued to follow Weiss.

It took a few minutes, but eventually, Weiss began to wind down, settling for close swaying instead of intimate groping. As Weiss leaned her head against Ruby's, she began to mumble something in Ruby's ear. It sounded sweet, but Ruby couldn't make it out and was afraid to ruin whatever moment was happening. _A girl could get used to this._

 _With a guy, I mean!_

Ruby leaned her head into Weiss' and swayed for a bit longer.

She felt a short tap on her shoulder and twisted her head as far as she could without disturbing Weiss, who Ruby believed _might_ be asleep. "Took you long enough," she angrily whispered to the figure that she believed to be Neptune. She twisted Weiss a little to see that the figure was wearing a tuxedo, and she realized it _wasn't_ Neptune. _Shit!_

She twirled both her and Weiss to face the figure, causing a stir from her partner. Ruby faced a smiling man, possibly in his late forties. His longer dark hair was starting to gray, and his square face was covered in a soft stubble. Ruby's eye lit up as he tilted his head apologetically. "I apologize, Miss, but I had to attend other to other matters before I offered a dance to the loveliest ladies at the party," he said in a Northern European accent.

Ruby's jaw dropped as Weiss pulled away from her to face their suitor. "Mads Mikkelsen?" Ruby whispered in astonishment.

The man chuckled and Weiss looked at Ruby in embarrassment. "How do you not know who this is?" Weiss hissed.

Ruby tucked her head into her shoulders and avoided eye contact. "So not Mads Mikkelsen?"

The man gave her another hearty chuckled and wiped a tear from his cheek. "No, Miss Rose. I dare say I am not as handsome as Mister Mikkelson." How took a bow, holding his drink out to prevent a loss of contents. "Mister Vasilias, at your service."

Weiss curtsied, and when it was clear that Ruby didn't know what to do, Weiss yanked her down. That arose yet another laugh from _the founder of her company._

 _How can you be so stupid?_ Ruby internally scolded herself as she and Weiss rose up again.

"How are you enjoying the party, sir?" Weiss asked him, slurring her question just a little.

He returned a half smirk and shook his head. "Not as much as I used to, as I'm sure you understand, young Miss Weiss."

Weiss frowned and bowed her head. "I'm sorry to hear that, sir." Ruby glanced over and felt the mood in their bubble worsen.

Mr. Vasilias must have noticed, because he reached out and traced her cheek. "It's not your party, Miss Weiss, but rather a certain party-goer." Weiss looked up with a sorrowful glance. He smiled down at her and then looked over to Ruby. "Though, one bad guest is a good trade to finally meet the guest of honor."

Ruby looked around, expecting someone more important to be standing behind her. "I made the trip when I heard that Neptune and Miss Weiss here were going to have such a promising member of my company attend." He slipped his hand to Ruby, who took it and weekly gave it a shake. _Zuh?_ He stepped half a step closer and leaned in closer to her. "Is my son treating you well?"

Ruby nodded her head, still too confused to speak. "That is very good," he added, smiling at her. "Now, I was going to offer you the first dance, but I think I need to cheer up the closest thing I have to a daughter," he beamed at Weiss. Ruby watched her mood improve, and drew even further into her state of confusion. _What is going on?_

"Worry not, Miss Ruby. I shall return to you after I catch up with Miss Weiss." He gave her a wink, strengthening the claims that he was Neptune's father, and Mr. Vasilias Foxtrotted away with Weiss.

Ruby was left alone at the edge of the crowd and desperately wished that Weiss would return. _And Neptune!_ She quickly corrected.

Alone, she made her way back to the extensive food table. She sought after the large platter of cookies, hoping that it would help with the crippling loneliness. As Ruby closed in on her saving grace, she heard feminine laughter.

 _More like childish giggling_ , she thought as she slid past a snooty, well-dressed man. She spied Neptune leaning against the table, chatting with a young woman in a soft teal dress.

It ached to watch him flirt with another girl, but as Ruby's heart sank deeper, she felt relief. _At least I don't have to worry about him cheating on me later._ Her feet carried her away while Ruby tuned out. When she tuned back in, she found herself standing face to face with the man behind the bar.

"What'll ya' have?" He asked. Ruby wasn't sure. She'd never really drank, except when Yang gave her whiskey. _We are not repeating that experience again._ Ruby looked up at him with an unsure expression. He chuckled and leaned forward on the counter. "What're ya' feelin'? I'll see if I can' solve yer' problem."

Ruby took a deep breath to steal her resolve. "I want something sweet," she started. The bartender began to stand back up, but she slapped her hand on his elbow and leaned in really close. "And I want it strong," she said in a high pitched voice, but demanding tone.

He chuckled and looked at his stock. "One Miami Vice, coming up." Ruby watched him begin to pour a bunch of things into a blender. "What's in it," she asked him.

He smiled back as he flicked the blender on. "Ya' allergic to anything?" Ruby shook her head. He pointed out at her and winked. "Then don't worry about it." He finished the blending and poured the drink into the glass.

Ruby watched the red slushie fill half of her tall glass. He lifted the blender a little higher, and cut off the pour with a flair of the remaining slush. To Ruby's surprise, he set the blender jar aside and pulled out another one. He tossed more ingredients into the jar and turned it on.

Ruby rested her head on the counter and waited for the drink to be completed. He popped the blender jar free and poured the second part into the glass. The white swirled and marbled throughout the red.

As a final touch, the bartender dropped a straw into her glass. He waited patiently as Ruby lifted her head to the straw. Her lips wrapped gently around the plastic tube, leaving a bit of deep red lipstick behind. Ruby watched the divisions of red and white slip up through the tube, and felt it touch her tongue.

It was perfect. The bittersweet taste of the strawberry, and the strength of the sweet coconut made for an amazing experience. _And it's going down without gagging!_ Her eyes lit up as she swallowed the first sip.

The bartender smiled at her. "Hopefully that'll fix whate'er yer' problem is, Lil' Red." Ruby thanked the man and turned to walk away. "If ya' need ano'her, just tell the waiter it's fer' Lil' Red, and I'll make it special."

With a drink in hand, Ruby needed a place to sit and think about her situation. _Preferably quiet._ She spied a set of double doors that led outside. _Bingo,_ she thought as she maneuvered the external crowd. Ruby found the doors unlocked, and stepped outside into the soft breeze.

She sighed with the breeze as she was carried to the balcony ledge. The music grew softer as she drew further away from the door, while the nighttime air grew more ambient. She swiped her hand over the stonework railing, testing the temperature. Satisfied with the lack of cold stone, she crossed her legs and hopped up onto the ledge.

 _Now what,_ she thought as she took another sip. "This never would have happened if Yang hadn't interfered," she openly argued.

 _Sending you to a party, or crushing on Neptune?_

"Any of it!" Ruby set her glass down and crossed her arms in a show of disappointment. "Things were fine when I was naive."

Ruby leaned over and took another sip of her drink through the straw. The wind blew her bangs into her face as she thought about the trouble she was having. She heard some laughing and chatting near the door, and turned her head to seek out its source.

Mr. Vasilias escorted Weiss to the door with a fresh drink in her hand. _Oh great. Just give her back MORE drunk._ Weiss smiled at Mr. Vasilias and curtsied again. Ruby watched him shake his head and pull her in for a hug. _I ship her and Neptune now,_ Ruby thought angrily. _So hard._

Mr. Vasilias walked back into the crowd, leaving Weiss standing at the door. After a few seconds, Weiss finally turned to face Ruby. As Ruby studied the young, cutthroat executive, Ruby noticed a few gestures that stuck out in her mind.

Weiss was fidgeting with her hands, standing at a strange angle, and despite looking at Ruby, was avoiding eye contact. _Is she nervous?_ Ruby wondered, recognizing the same uncomfortable gestures she often makes.

Ruby took a deep breath and patted on the cool stone surface beside herself. Weiss approached the open spot and took a seat next to Ruby. The two sat in silence for a moment, sipping their drinks. It wasn't uncomfortable for Ruby, but she felt the tension in the air.

She felt a sharp chill run through her sinuses and grabbed her head. "Brain freeze!" She shouted as she held her eyes closed as tightly as possible. She felt Weiss shift next to her, and heard a soft giggle. "These will do that," she said with a small smile.

She looked over at Weiss' drink. Her fingers held the straw like a pointer as she stared the drink into a soft pink color. Ruby looked down at her own, which had begun to make a similar color. "I generally prefer just the red," she began. Ruby took the straw and finished the rest of hers.

"But when the bartender told me what you were drinking, I thought mixing the two sounded pretty good." Ruby set her glass down in the space between them, and Weiss glanced down at the empty cup. To Ruby's surprise, Weiss reached down and picked up the straw. She carefully placed it in her own cup and rotated it to face Ruby.

Ruby instinctively moved her glass out of the way as she scooted closer to Weiss, who had held her own glass between them.

The extra body heat radiating from Weiss felt nice while the early spring air swirled around them. Ruby waited for Weiss to take a drink out of the cup before grabbing her own straw and taking a sip. Satisfied that Weiss didn't seem to mind, Ruby took another.

"He's a jerk, you know." Weiss finally said. Ruby knew who she was talking about. It was the only person they had in common, and it clearly wasn't the older gentleman that had just given her a hug. _Why does he have to flirt with every girl he comes across_.

Ruby sighed and finally answered Weiss, who had revoked her drinking privileges for a moment while she took her own sip. "I know. I just thought it might be different."

Weiss gave her a soft smile and returned the glass to it's shared position. "He doesn't do it to hurt you, or me, he just does it because it's who he is. He's a flirt, and it makes him connections."

Ruby leaned forward for another long sip before continuing with her complaints. "He offered to take me on a date before we got here." Ruby looked down at her swinging legs and thought about the status of her request. "That was, if I still wanted to go out with him."

"And?" Weiss questioned. She took a sip of the drink herself and took notice of how low the drink was.

Ruby gently shook her head. "I don't think so."

Weiss nodded abruptly and moved the drink back to Ruby. "I think that's a wise choice."

Ruby leaned in an looked down into the glass. It was almost empty, and Ruby decided if she took a full drink, it would empty their source of bonding. She grabbed the straw with her mouth and took a minuscule sip to extend their period together a little longer. "Did you guys use to date?" Ruby asked when finished with her sip.

Weiss corrected her posture and sat silently for a moment. Ruby wanted to reach out and swipe her hand through the tension in the air, but felt it would break Weiss' concentration. Weiss glanced back at Ruby to speak. "Once, a long time ago."

Ruby could tell a lot was missing. It was a tactic she understood well. "What happened?"

Weiss scooted a little closer to Ruby. There was almost no space between them, and Ruby felt her arm rubbing against Weiss' alabaster skin. "I just realized I wasn't into guys like him."

Together, they sat there in the cool breeze. For a few minutes, Ruby felt special. It wasn't the first time a person made her feel important, but for some reasons, Ruby felt like this important was more special.

Ruby realized she'd leaned her head against Weiss', and that the drink had run dry. Weiss bounced the straws around in the glass and looked over at Ruby, who found herself staring up at Weiss' cheeks. _Why there? Is this what happens when you're drunk?_

Weiss smiled down and shifted away from Ruby. There was a low, disappointed groan from Ruby's chest, but it ceased when Weiss gave her a twirl, raising the hems of her skirt line higher up her thighs. "Let's go get another drink." Her face felt warm towards Ruby. _Are we both drunk? Is this what being drunk with friends is like?_

She reached down and grabbed Ruby's hand, pulling her in for another.

* * *

 **AN: I would like to apologize for the extreme delay on these two chapters. These have actually been written since January 2nd, but two things have prevented their posting.**

 **1) When I wrote these on the 2nd, I was on my way home from Europe and writing on an airplane and in the airport. In order to survive a 28 hour trip with little sleep (it was the middle of the day since for most of the trip since, you know, time zones), and a 9 hour delay in O'Hare, I was pretty blasted. It has taken a lot of work to actually make the corrections to these, and part of the next, chapters. Drunk Taco is hard to understand sometimes.**

 **2) I haven't had internet, and when I have, my laptop won't work. I need to replace the hard drive inside, and because of that, there's only like a 30% chance it will even boot up. Sadly, I can't post these from my iPad, where I've had to do most of the writing, because I can't format them properly and I can't transfer them into FF without redoing all of the formatting.**

 **So you guys had a wait a little longer. No telling when the next chapter will be up, but I am ordering the replacement parts tomorrow and moving back on campus (which means all the fast internet), so there should be no more major technical issues.**

 **Sorry for the delay, but the extended chapter should make it a little worth it.**

 **Have a nice day, night, or whatever, and don't mix drugs with alcohol.**

 **Taco**


	9. Sweet Dream (8)

**AN: One thing before this chapter starts;**

 **This chapter took me while because of the ideas that I wanted to express. Looking into my writing folder, there are five different versions of this chapter that are all marked as "draft". It took me several tries to get all the feelings across that I wanted to get across, and I'm praying that I did it this time. Have fun.**

* * *

Her bottom was freezing. The frozen cream frost was built up around her cheeks, and she felt her underwear grow damp as the ice cream touching her body melted. It wasn't an uncommon reaction to sitting on top of a mountain of ice cream. Ruby did, however, wish that she'd worn pants.

The red dress bunched up as she slid down the side of the mountain, pushing more of the white frost up between her legs. It sent chills down her spine, but the cold sensation felt surprisingly nice and pleasant.

Despite her favorite flavor being chocolate, the mountains around her were all vanilla. To Ruby, it looked almost like snow, which made the scenery even more beautiful. She wasn't sure what it was about the alps being covered in the vanilla ice cream, but it made her happy as she reached the bottom.

The snow began to buzz around her. At first, Ruby thought it was an earthquake. A fine layer of the surface ice cream was vibrating and shaking around her. She felt her body sinking into the deep covering.

The world of ice cream began to gray around her, and the buzzing interrupted her sweet dream. Upon leaving the mountains, Ruby was met with a pounding headache.

The buzzing continued, pounding against the edges of her skull with every rattle. The air around her was cold as Ruby withdrew her arm from the warmth of the sheets. She swung it around begrudgingly, looking for the phone.

Ruby struggled to find the device, but it sounded strange to her. The phone rattled on what sounded like glass, instead of her normal, wood side table. Her hand flapped around as the beating in her head grew stronger. _So this is the first of many drunken mistakes,_ she internally groaned.

When her fingers couldn't find the small device, Ruby dared to open her eyes. White light flooded her pupils and she felt the back of her eyes burn. She let out a loud moan as she snapped them shut and threw her free hand over her face. The throbbing in her head grew worse.

The phone started vibrating again, and Ruby wished she could just turn it off with her mind. _Or if you could just find it._ She reached over again and felt the cool touch of glass on her fingertips. The cold forced her to repeal her hand in response, but she braved the icy surface again. _It feels like a freezer in here._

Her palm knocked against the edge of her phone, and she felt the vibrating up through her arm. She quickly moved her hand to the cover it, and her thumb swiftly found the power button. The phone finally ceased it's chattering, and Ruby's headache died down.

After combatting with the vile caller, Ruby rolled back into place with a sigh. _Wait_ , she thought as she considered the surface of her side table. _Where is_ my _table?_ Ruby braved a single eye opened to search her surroundings.

The first thing she noticed was that this _wasn't_ her room. The color scheme surrounding her was all wrong. The walls and furniture were covered in light colors that accentuated the rising sun, as opposed to her reds and blacks, which would prevent the day from ever entering her room. Her single eye searched the furniture and decor to give her some clue about her location.

The style didn't make this any easier, though. A modern style seemed to fit a lot of her friends these days, and it's not like it was an uncommon trend. At the very least, she'd never been in this room before.

She did see one color that stood out to her.

The second thing that Ruby noticed was the bright red dress draped over the back of an armchair in the corner of the room. Despite the bright light, Ruby opened her other eye, and together they grew wide and shocked. Panic began to take over as the incorrect placement of her dress sank in.

Ruby's hand snapped to her chest. The beating of her heart stopped as her palm tapped against her sternum. After a millisecond of thought, her lungs filled with air again.

It was okay. Ruby let out a relieved sigh as her fingers bunched up the shirt covering her upper body.

The same couldn't be said for her legs, though, and Ruby resumed held her breath while her hand searched the bare skin of her thighs. A dull pain spread throughout her chest. Resisting the urge to breath was becoming a problem, but against personal desires, Ruby took in some oxygen.

Now, she was taking it in too quickly. Strange sounds erupted from her mouth as air vibrated over her vocal cords. Panic had filled her lungs, and Ruby found it impossible to stop hyperventilating.

It grew worse when she felt something snake over her stomach. The free hand slid up her chilled thighs to find an appendage draped across her. Though her fear continued to surge through her body, the hyperventilating ceased. Her fingertips traced along the arm until they found the end. Ruby entertained her fingers with someone else's hand briefly, feeling the heartbeat of whoever was next to her.

Ruby gently turned her body to face her bedmate, careful not to remove the affectionately draped extension. It was almost like camouflage, the way the young woman next to her blended in with the sheets. A lump built in the back of her throat as she studied the white hair and pale skin carefully.

Weiss groaned and shifted closer to Ruby. The intertwined hand was pulled between them, and Weiss buried her head in the empty space that remained.

It was unexpected to wake up in someone else's bed. It was terrifying to wake up next to Weiss. Nothing could be compared to the jumble to concerns building in Ruby's head as she gently slid her other arm over Weiss' body.

 _You slept with Weiss._

 _You're in her bed._

 _Almost naked._

 _With Weiss._

Air left from between her lips shakily. Her breath was stagnated, but Ruby feared disturbing a single hair on Weiss' head and causing her to wake up. She closed her eyes and inhaled through her nose. _It could be worse,_ she considered. _You could have woken up with someone you didn't know. You could be somewhere no one could find you._

Her hand slowly ran up and down Weiss' exposed back. It became clear to Ruby that Weiss was a little more naked than she was. Her heart skipped a beat when she touched the strap below Weiss' shoulder blades.

 _Instead, you're with Weiss, who will likely yell at you or get you fired._

Everything Ruby had built up could disappear before her very eyes, all for a single night of drunken fun.

 _But you're wearing clothes! That's a good sign. It means nothing serious happened._ Ruby slowed her heart rate with the revelation. The situation looked bad, but it could be explained away, and she could be saved.

Except that Weiss _would_ wake up soon, and realize that Ruby was lying in bed next to her. Ruby came to the conclusion that nothing happened, but could she? _Does Weiss even have a reason to think anything happened?_

Ruby wasn't even sure they were friends until the previous night. _Friends have sleepovers, right?_ Ruby didn't show any interest the previous night, and maybe Weiss retained a better memory than herself. There was no flirting.

Plus, Ruby wasn't gay.

 _That doesn't matter. Nothing happened!_

 _Yeah, but what if_ she _thinks something happened?_

 _What if something_ really did _happen?_

With her mind racing, Ruby sought after a distraction to calm her down. The pads of her fingers rubbed against Weiss' soft hair and took hold. Ruby idly twirled Weiss' hair around her fingers while she considered the possibilities.

 _Would it be bad if something happened? Weiss is pretty._

Ruby shuddered. _Stop! Girls are icky._

The best solution was a way out for her. It was impossible to recall how she got here, but she didn't drive to the party herself. That meant no car. She would have to find another mode of transportation. Busses were out of the question, as it was doubtful that such a powerful woman lived near a bus stop.

She could call Neptune.

...who would never let her live this down.

Her hand was now completely entangled in Weiss' locks. She scrunched her fingers on the back of Weiss' scalp, creating a slow scratching motion.

Yang always had her back. She would come pick Ruby up.

...and never let her live this down.

A warm breeze rippled against her shirt. It pushed through the fabric, contrasting the cool air of the Schnee home. Each breathe against her chest slowed her heart rate to a comfortable pace.

It became increasingly clear. She would have to face some kind of embarrassment. _I am never drinking again._ She opted for her sister, who could still keep everything a secret. Her sister could also bring her pants, which Ruby doubted she could find here. If Ruby was gonna be forced to do the walk of shame, she wasn't doing it in her nice dress.

Just as Ruby became determined to solve her problem, she noticed something. Something serious; the breathing against her had stopped.

Weiss had begun to hold her breathe, and in turn, Ruby started holding her own. Ruby counted in her head, hoping it was just a fluke, but as seconds passed she became more and more scared.

"Ruby," Weiss finally asked. Ruby could feel her hands trembling. One was still holding Weiss', and the other was in her hair. Her body shook with fear as she anticipated the next few moments of her life. "Why are we cuddling?"

Ruby flew out of bed in a flash. It never even occurred to her that a person could move that fast, but Ruby now stood several feet away from her side of the bed. Her body was turned to face Weiss, now sitting straight up, wrapped in sheets.

Exposed to the morning air, Ruby's legs began to rattle together. "I uh-uh," she stammered. Her entire body shivered, though she wasn't sure if it was from the cold, or her nerves.

A knot built in her stomach. Before, she was just worried about Weiss being mad. Now, she was worried Weiss would kill her.

The look of horror Ruby found in those crystal blue eyes made her want to throw up. Weiss held up her hand, the one Ruby had just been holding, and looked down at it. She was unable to keep it still. "Were-" she tried. Weiss used the shaking hand to rub off the side of her face. It moved to her mouth for a second before falling back to the sheet. "Were you playing with my hair?"

Ruby's knees threatened to give out. The situation was expectedly bad, but Weiss' reaction made it worse. Ruby's chest burned as she stood in front of Weiss.

 _Don't cry._ There was silence. Ruby watched Weiss move her lips, but no words came out. Nothing came to her either, leaving them both without words.

She was finally able to break the silence. Teeth chattering, Ruby formed the words that would likely lead to an early grave, or a broken heart. "You… You looked so peaceful, and I didn't want you waking up until I figured out what to d-"

Weiss' hand shot up, and a pained expression took over her face. "Please, Ruby. My head is still killing me. Don't go on one of your rants."

That wasn't the plan, but Ruby admitted that she was going to rant. Weiss didn't want to listen to her, though.

It wasn't abnormal for someone to cut her off, but they usually let her get something out. Weiss wanted none of it. Her stomach twisted, and Ruby dry heaved quietly.

Weiss was now pinching the bridge of her nose, and pointing her finger to the air between them. "I can't believe this happened," she mumbled. "This is so fucked."

In the short time that Ruby knew Weiss, she had never heard her curse. "Is-" Ruby licked her lips and swallowed air. "Is it really that bad to wake up with me?"

Weiss removed her hand and glared. "Of course it is, you dolt! Do you know what would happen if someone found out I slept with you?"

The twisting continued. Ruby pushed on her stomach, hoping the pain would stop. "But, nothing happened…"

Weiss threw her hands up and then yanked them down. "Do you think that fucking matters? If someone finds out I did anything in a bed with you, my life could be over!"

 _Don't cry._

"How, in any way, is this good? You'd just get labeled as a whore!"

 _Don't cry._

"But of course, you wouldn't understand! You aren't from the same world as Neptune and I!"

 _Okay, maybe cry._

Ruby choked back a sob as best she could, but she couldn't hide the tears running down her cheek. "I'm sorry I'm not good enough for you," she whispered.

The feeling in her legs was gone. As the numbness took over, she collapsed onto the ground. The last thing Ruby saw before she buried her head in her arms was surprise.

Weiss looked surprised.

"No…" Weiss said. "Ruby, I di-"

She sobbed now. It was too much. The first person Ruby had ever even shared a bed within her adult years wanted nothing to do with her.

The logical part of her brain told her to pull it together. _Crying on the floor won't do you any good. Get out, and go home. You can cry later when you aren't in front of the most powerful woman in the world._

The emotional side had different plans, though. _How can we move? It hurts too much!_

 _What is this gonna solve?_

 _We need to let everything out!_

 _Grab the phone._

Ruby raised her head and sucked in as much air as she could. Her palm pressed into her eye socket to dry the tears away, but it didn't help much. Everything around her was still blurred.

She could make out shapes. Instincts and blurry sight took her to the side table where she knew her phone would still be laying. Her knees barely worked as she crawled over.

A blurry white shape rushed to the side table where Ruby's phone lay. Ruby pushed herself to reach the table first, but fell short by a hand. By the time Ruby could get her own to the table, Weiss was already repealing it. "Ruby, let me explain!"

Now it was anger that drove her. Ruby found the strength to stand and balled her fists at her sides. "So now you're gonna hold me hostage until I let you bully me some more?"

She grabbed onto the first thing she could. Secretly, she hoped it would be a lamp, or something heavy, but realistically, it was just a pillow. Using all her strength, she chucked it at the blur that was Weiss. "Calm, down! Please, Ruby!"

Now it was shock. _Did she really just say that?_ It was full of pain and confusion, but Ruby laughed at the suggestion. "You insult me, and then think you can ask _me_ to calm down?" Ruby stomped her foot and tossed out her hand in exclamation. "Especially when you won't let me get a ride home!"

Something hit her, and hit her fast. At first, she registered it as another pillow, but it was far too heavy for that. Ruby felt something wrap around her wrists; not tightly, but firmly. Her feet were carried backward, and soon, Ruby felt her back against a wall.

She blinked her eyes to clear away the tears, and found herself pinned against the wall by Weiss. Normally, Ruby was sure she could overpower her. Despite her smaller stature, Ruby was far stronger. Today, however, she couldn't. Her body wouldn't let her move.

"I will get you a ride home in a minute, Ruby, but I need you to listen to me," Weiss stated firmly.

Of course, Ruby wanted none of it. "Get off of me!" She struggled. It wasn't much of a fight, but it was enough to bother Weiss. "I don't even want your stupid explanation!"

"Ruby," Weiss tried. She was met with resistance and reluctance. Ruby even tried to swing her leg up. Instead, she found her leg blocked by Weiss', who must have expected such a trick.

"Ruby, you're a girl," Weiss claimed.

"Well, of course I'm a girl! What the fuck do you expect? You have me in my underwear, so do you see a pen-"

Weiss cut her off by releasing one of her arms and covering her mouth. "No, Ruby," Weiss said calmly. Ruby finally looked into her eyes and, for just a moment, felt sedated. "You. Are. A. Girl."

Weiss' eyes were almost pleading for Ruby to understand. After a few seconds of thought, she did. It was a silly fight that Ruby put up because ultimately, they _were_ both girls.

Ruby took a refreshing, deep breath. "You… mean…" Ruby started. She had trouble finding the words to finish, but Weiss found them for her. "It has nothing to do with who you are, Ruby. It's because you're a woman."

* * *

 **AN: Have fun?**

 **I was originally going to argue a very concerning a private message from a self-righteous reader, but after writing it all out, I realized it didn't matter. I don't have to explain something that I do, because it's likely that no one else even sees it the same way, and if they do, I don't want that kind of person to dictate my writing.**

 **So instead, I'm gonna chat about something that IS very important to you, the reader.**

 **As of right now, the story has two endings. One is happy, the other is Somber and a little dark. Both fit the overall theme that I'm working on.**

 **I have a personal philosophy about unsatisfying endings being the ones that we care about most, but I also don't want to pull a Star Wars: The Last Jedi and literally ignore Chekhov's gun*.**

 **So, I want some opinions. If you enjoy my story, and want some say in the ending, give me a PM, or leave a review, or shout it into the night sky. I'm not saying I WILL pick the most popular ending, 'cause I ain't a sellout, but I will use your opinions to decide which ending I end up liking better.**

 **I also really like to hear things from you guys. I'm not writing this for anyone else, so your opinions matter.**

 **Have a good day, night, or whenever, and only do drugs if the cool kids are doing them!**

 **-Taco**

 ***Chekhov's gun: a literary philosophy that if you present an expectation to the audience, you must deliver a satisfying payoff in order to appeal to the reader.**

 **Example: You make it clear that a character has a gun, so it's necessary that at some point in the story, it will be used.**


	10. Coffee for Two (9)

****

***Cough* Ahem...**

 **HO-LEE Fucking** ** _SHIT,_**

 ** _Is that a_** **"For Reasons Unknown"** ** _chapter update?_**

 **You bet your sweet titty this is. Buckle Up, kiddo.**

* * *

The morning sunlight had just started to bleed through the fallen, pale curtains. Specks of light dotted the room, but most importantly, her face. Ruby stared at the soft white skin just inches from her own. Her eyes darted between her cheeks, and the eyes of her captor.

No matter how hard Ruby tried, she couldn't avoid the piercing gaze that emitted from Weiss' eyes. The crystal blue tone of her iris' were as clear as ice, but yet not as cold. To Ruby, they almost felt warm.

"Are you good now?" Weiss asked. The question brought her back down, reminding her that she was being held in place by Weiss. It had been a few moments since she'd finished her hysteric attack, and Weiss held her up against the wall the whole time.

Despite Weiss' stern attitude, it didn't feel threatening. The grip on her arms wasn't tight, and the hold was more secure than restrictive. To test the theory, Ruby moved an arm. Not by much, just an inch, but enough that Weiss would notice.

Weiss let go slowly and backed up a step and a half. They were still close, but now Ruby felt like she had more room to breath. "Yeah, I'm good now." She shied her eyes away to avoid the embarrassment of what she just did.

Her curiosity, however, was stronger, so Ruby peaked up out of the corner of her eye to watch Weiss.

Weiss rubbed her arm and pursed her lip. "I'm really sorry about that, Ruby. I didn't know you felt that way."

Ruby giggled a soft, half-hearted chuckle. "I mean…" She gave Weiss a weak smile. "I don't think I do. I've just never really woken up next to someone who didn't want me to be there."

Weiss seemed a bit taken aback. Her arms crossed, and she shifted her feet awkwardly. "Does… does this happen a lot for you?"

Ruby let out a quick and awkward laugh, but upon realizing the seriousness of the question, she stopped. She gently shook her head and looked back to the floor. "...No."

Weiss reached out and gently nudged Ruby's elbow playfully. "Well I guess I'm glad I'm your first." It was accompanied by an almost uncomfortable smile, but Ruby knew Weiss was trying. "You know, I never really had sleepovers as a kid, so we'll just call it that, okay?"

Ruby nodded and nudged back. They shared a pleasant smile and Ruby almost felt good.

Almost.

There was a short cough from the doorway of the room, and they both turned to find the redhead standing in the door. Realization struck Ruby as she threw her hands to cover up her panty-clad body.

Weiss, on the other hand, acted like her presence was perfectly normal. "Morning, Ms. Schnee," the redhead beamed happily. "Morning, Ms. Rose."

Ruby timidly removed one hand to awkwardly wave good morning to their guest. The woman chuckled and turned back towards the door. "If you'd come out, I've taken the liberty of preparing coffee and acquired Ms. Rose a fresh set of clothes."

Weiss sighed and marched towards the door. "So my day already begins."

Ruby stood still, still covering herself. "How did she know I'd need clothes?" Weiss missed the comment as she left the room.

Her kitchen was immaculate. Ruby scanned the counter tops for any sort of wear, but they were as crisp and clean as they day they were installed. The only item Ruby could spot any wear on was the coffee maker, which now sat full. _Does she NEVER cook in here,_ Ruby pondered as she carefully tiptoed across the cold tile floors.

The hair began to stand up on the back of her neck, as though someone were watching her, and Ruby turned to find the redhead standing there with a stack of clothes. "I had to make guesses on the size, but these should fit you just fine."

As the stack was dropped into her arms, she took stock of what she would be wearing. _Jeans and a button up shirt._ Ruby glanced up at the redhead, who smiled pleasantly and turned back to the kitchen. _This is exactly what I would've worn today!_

As Ruby tossed the button up over her t-shirt, she wondered if she should be joyed for the new outfit, or worried that this redhead assistant of Weiss' knew her so well.

Weiss moved around the kitchen, throwing a shawl on over her soft, light skin. Ruby let out a little noise that resembled a whimper as she hid it away. "What's on my agenda today, Ms. Nykos?"

The redhead handed Weiss a tablet, and then a delicate looking mug; much fancier than any of Ruby's five dollar mugs from Target. Weiss began to read whatever lay on the screen while the redhead, Ms. Nykos, began pouring another cup.

Ruby took a seat at the island, and was met with a nice warm cup of coffee slid in front of her. "How do you take it, Ms. Rose?"

Ruby glanced up, expecting Ms. Nykos to already _know_ exactly what Ruby wanted in her morning Joe. She pursed her lips and dipped the tip of her finger into the cup. As the first millimeter of her finger became submerged, Ruby's arm threatened to real back in shock. Not to her surprise, the coffee was hotter than expected, but the pain of embarrassment was worse than any minor burn she might suffer.

She took the tip of her finger and stuck it into her mouth, tasting the bitterness of her drink. Her eyes scrunched and her brow furrowed. "Cream, and lots of sugar," Ruby announced with her finger dangling carefully from her mouth.

Ms. Nykos presented Ruby with a jar of milk, followed by a look of sympathy. "Ms. Schnee doesn't keep much food in the house, including sugar."

Ruby pondered the great tragedy for a moment, before concocting a solution that even the great engineers of the world would be proud of. "Do you have any chocolate?" Ruby asked timidly. She was met with a sly smirk from Weiss, who refrained from looking up from the tablet, and a simple nod from Ms. Nykos. "I'll find some right away, Ms. Rose."

The floor clicked as Ms. Nykos left the kitchen, heading further into the house. "She's going to take from my personal stash," Weiss commented in a dry tone. Ruby immediately bowed her head, worrying about the backlash of the statement, but as the moment dragged on, Ruby found herself unable to keep her eyes down.

She found Weiss softly smiling at her, and when their eyes met, Ruby found herself smiling too. "I guess you can have some, though," Weiss added. Her hands went back to making small movements across the screen, and her eyes shifted away from Ruby.

There was a small _ping_ deep down in Ruby's stomach. It made her feel almost sick, but alive at the same time. It was an entirely new sensation, and she wondered what ailment had caused it.

Ruby ignored the slight churning of her stomach and looked around the kitchen, picking up the delicate cup with both hands. It was fairly bare, with very little accessories or details that made Ruby think Weiss had any personal belongings. It felt cold and barren, but serene, like fresh snow in the mountains back home.

Except for one picture frame standing neatly by the far side of the counter near to the wall. Ruby scanned over the item, but quickly found herself stepping up from her chair to take a closer look.

Inside the frame were two girls, both with crisp white hair. The smaller one, which Ruby assumed was Weiss, wore her hair down and wore a light, cotton sundress. As Ruby picked up the frame to get a closer look, she noticed the soft red scar missing from Weiss' eye. She seemed happy and carefree, but most importantly, proud.

The second woman looked to be a little older than Weiss did now, standing next to her with very firm posture and a white naval uniform. Her hand rested gently on Weiss' shoulder, and a small, soft smile rested on her face.

"Oh." Ruby jumped her head up to the origin of the sound, and found Weiss staring at her with a stunned expression on her face. Ruby, afraid she disturbed something, set the picture frame back down in its place. "Who is she?" Ruby asked.

Weiss shook the tone from her face and feigned a smile. "It's my sister, Winter."

"Are you two close? You look pretty proud in that photo." Ruby sipped from her mug and got closer to Weiss. As she inched her way closer to Weiss, she felt the uneasiness in her stomach rise. _Great, I also have a hangover_.

Weiss gave a unsure nod. "We haven't spoken in a while," Weiss started, her voice not as confident as it usually was. Weiss must have also notices, because she straightened her back and put the confidence back into her voice, "but that's because she's a very busy woman with lots of responsibilities."

Weiss starred off at the picture. "She doesn't have a lot of time for updates."

Ruby scooted a little closer to Weiss, finding the queasiness both disappearing and heightening. "What's she do?" Ruby asked.

Ruby held her breath as Weiss shift closer to her companion. "She's a Navy Seal commander," Weiss beamed proudly.

Though they hadn't been friends for very long, Ruby found it strange to see Weiss as prideful, or even as generally emotional, as this. She was normally reserved and stern. In only a night, the Weiss Schnee Ruby was terrified of turned into Weiss Schnee, the uptight friend. _And a cute one_. Ruby caught herself stealing glances again. _Stop it!_

Weiss pressed on Ruby's arm, which startled the small girl out of her thoughts. Unfortunately, it also startled her out of her grip on the cup. With a chirp and a shake, the porcelain cup fell to the floor. As it shattered against the tile, Ruby tightly closed her eyes, and pleaded with whatever gods she could to end her life.

She felt bits jump onto her toes, and without breaking the tight seal she formed with her eyelids, she apologized in her usual manner. "I'msosorrypleaseI'llcleanitupjusttellmewherethebroomis," she said in a single, deep breath.

"Well, I guess you don't need the chocolate now," the voice of Ms. Nykos added, along with the sound of clicking heels. "Don't worry about it, Ms. Rose. I'll get it cleaned up," she said cheerfully.

Ruby squinted open a single eye and saw Ms. Nykos standing ready with a broom, waiting on Ruby to move. She heard a sigh come from Weiss, and felt a hand wrap around her wrist. It gently pulled her away from the disaster and led her to the otherside of the island.

A bundle of fabric was dropped into her still cup-holding shaped arms, and Ruby popped her eye fully open. She found the pants Ms. Nykos had brought her, and Weiss smiling in front of her. "Tell you what, Ms. Nykos will clean up the mess, and you go get dressed so I can get some work done today, okay?"

Ruby squeezed her eye closed again. "Am I preventing you from going to work?" Ruby panicked.

Weiss let out a puff of amused air, and gently pushed Ruby towards her room. "No, Ruby. It's a Saturday." Ruby opened both her eyes and looked at Weiss with confusion. "But," Weiss exaggerated, "I'm a busy lady, and Saturdays are my days to catch up on stuff I want to do without stuffy board members."

When Weiss stopped pushing, she grabbed a towel and turned towards the bathroom. "I'm gonna take a shower." Ruby's face grew red as she imagined the proceeding activity. "Put on your pants and Ms. Nykos will take you home."

As Weiss turned back towards the bath, Ruby let out a noise. "Whu-"

Weiss turned around. "Weiss, thanks for the sleepover,"Ruby offered shyly. She found she couldn't meet Weiss' gaze, and gradually dropped her line of sight to her feet. "I didn't have many, either"

Ruby found a caring smile when she finally dared to look back at Weiss' face. "Of course, Ruby. We'll just have to do it again."

* * *

 **Now for the formal Author's Note;**

 **I would like to apologize for the absurd amount of time it too me to write this chapter. In fact, it took me being bored of the 8 billion other projects I had going to on to actually write again.**

 **It's not really fair to you guys, my fine readers, that I don't (and will not) update this regularly. This is a pretty abusive relationship, and I'm sorry. The first step is admitting you have a problem.**

 **But, sadly, this won't change anytime soon. I'm extremely busy with other things in life, and this is like, past the top 10 chart of my priorities. I'll continue to work on it where I can, but no promises. I hope you guys do keep reading, though, as I enjoy feedback and satisfying that itch I know you all have for cute, mildly edgy, rom-com.**

 **Have a good day, night, or whatever time it is, and don't do drugs!**

 **Taco**


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